Shifti - User contributions [en]

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Departing

2013-12-13T06:13:13Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Departing}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The next day we met at the docks. I had everything ready, the backpacks ready for me and Alex, food, everything. We were ready to go. Dawn was there with me as I stood there with our gear, watching Alex and Blossom approach. I’d already paid the boatman for the two of us and gotten our tickets.

“You both ready?” I asked as they arrived.

Alex nodded. "Ready to rumble. Hey, who's the new addition?" he said, looking to Dawn.

Blossom smiled at Dawn and waved shyly. “A friend of Nathan’s."

"Dawn's the person I asked you about,” I explained. "Dawn, Alex and Blossom.”

Dawn nodded her head once. "Hello."

"Hi, it’s nice to meet you." Blossom said.

"Pleased to meet you Dawn." Alex said, holding out his hand to shake.

Dawn didn’t miss a step. "Sorry Alex, I don't do that anymore."

Alex pulled his hand back. "Ah ... anymore?"

Blossom smiled "You’re very pretty." she complimented Dawn.

"Don't worry about me. Let's get you folks underway." Dawn stated. She turned to me. "Nathan, you've got lead, I'm just a tagalong."

"Sure thing." I grabbed the stuff and hauled it up to the boarding plank. I flashed my ticket and waited for Alex and Blossom to cover their fares.

The boat was an old-fashioned caravel. Small, but about the highest tech you could get in realm. Just a quick boat for in-and-out of realm trips. We wouldn’t be the only ones. They had a radio for emergency, but of course that wouldn’t work once we got in realm. Still, I’d been on this boat before. Nice, fast trip in realm.

I lugged the gear aboard and set it down in the main hold. Given the shortness of the trip, there weren’t really guest rooms. Just a main hold, and some hammocks spread out. Nothing really elaborate. I stowed the gear in a compartment and locked it, and then returned to my group.

I sat down in a chair as we waited for the boat to leave.

Alex took a seat next to me. "Hmm. Nathan, I hope it isn't too personal, but that tattoo...?"

I shrugged a bit. "No, it's not too personal. I'm a devout follower of Athene."

He nodded, looking a bit worried.

Blossom was looking at Dawn a bit as she sat down in her own chair. For now she was just listening.

Dawn settled into one of the hammocks near our seats. "Our ride's about a day long... Hope you aren't the types to get seasick."

Alex grinned. "We're about to find out."

"I've never been on a boat..but I don’t think I get seasick." I decided, given obvious documentation that Blossom had been on a boat before with the RAF, that her memory wasn’t very good. Extra watching, this one.

"Keep a bucket handy.", Dawn advised.

“Why, what happens?" Blossom inquired.

“You get sick." Alex stated.

"What type of sick?" Blossom, again.

"Vomit type sick." Alex explained.

Blossom finally got it. "oh.." she smiled a bit, like she was remembering a good memory. Weirded me out a bit, I’ll admit.

Alex took out something and stared at it. Looked like a custom lighter.

"Do you ever fly Dawn?" Blossom asked, changing the subject.

"Not out here in the scientific realm. I'll be able to fly once we're in Greece." Dawn explained, patiently.

"What? Why’s that?" Blossom seemed confused.

I glanced at Dawn with a “See? Green” look.

Dawn returned the look. "Uhm... Honey, I break the laws of aerodynamics."

Blossom looked a bit confused.

Alex spoke up before she could say anything. "The realms are magical right?" He was staring at his lighter.

"I sure hope so." Dawn said. She’s more blunt than me at times, and that’s one of the traits I admire, is being able to just hammer the point home without trying to be nice about it. "That lighter got much plastic in it?"

Alex paused, then shook his head. "Umm, don't think so."

"Here's how it works... Inside the realms, explosions don't happen, electricity doesn't flow, and synthetic compounds break down in an awful hurry." Dawn elaborated.

Alex frowned slightly, holding the lighter tighter. He didn’t know what it was made of. “Ah.”

"Outside the realms, magic doesn't happen, and all the laws of science have to be obeyed." Dawn paused. "There was a reason we had you wear cotton clothes instead of polyester."

"So what if..someone was magically made a certain way." Blossom asked, seeming a bit nervous.

"Like I was? They deal with it." Dawn cut to the point.

"Deal with it how?" Blossom asked, pushing the question line a bit too far.

"However." Dawn shrugged.

A pair of minotaurs and a few other human groups settled in as we got underway, the telltale sound of the engines kicking in as we started to leave. Of course, the engines won’t work once we get past the realm border, but they’re good for moving up until then.

"That doesn't answer my question." Blossom pouted.

"It all depends on the person, hon." Dawn took a bit of a teaching tone.

Alex tucked away his lighter. "You just live with it, Blossom."

Blossom nodded, accepting the answer for now and falling silent.

{{seperator|k}}

We arrived the next day in the Gulf of Corinth. Once we were near, I got called up to the deck to help watch for any marauding monsters. Dawn took off and circled overhead for a bit, seeming to be glad to be back in realm. In a way, I envied her flight, but I tried to keep my mind on my task.

Blossom watched Dawn in awe, closing her eyes after a moment and looking lost in her own world. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to be rather significantly more relaxed once we were in realm borders, for some reason. I’d have to ask him about that later; most people get more edgy going in realm, not relaxed.

After we docked, I helped haul the stuff off, and got the packs distributed between me, Alex, and Blossom. I glanced at the sun; it was early evening. We had 20 miles to go, and we’d make no good time today, so I led them towards the nearest inn I liked.

It was pretty busy here in Corinth, in that rustic realm way. The city was built into the ruins of the original, high-tech Corinth that was abandoned 19 years ago. The weather was warm and humid; standard Med summer.

Blossom rubbernecked around while following "What’s this place called?"

"This is Corinth." I said.

Blossom took a swig of water and nodded to me. Dawn landed nearby.

"We should check in for the evening, and get started early tomorrow. Nighttime is dangerous," I said.

Alex nodded at my remark. He turned to Dawn as she landed and tried to make small talk. "Hmm, Dawn?" He chats. "You said you didn't shake hands anymore. What do you mean by that?"

Blossom glanced to Alex. "I think she meant she was human once..."

"Kiddo got it in one."

"I know how she feels." Blossom said offhand.

Alex browraised, mumbling something. "What happened?" he asked.

"Got myself caught by some of Echidna's monsters. Woke up with feathers and tits. That's how it goes,” Dawn elaborated with her inimitable style.

Alex shuddered a bit.

Blossom nodded. "I woke up as a human, i went from being 10 inches tall to this height."

"Blossom, shut up." Alex hissed, which got a glare in response.

"Hfff. Trade ya, Blossom,” Dawn commented.

"Make sure to remind me to keep the hell away from the gods ... oh wait..." Alex jokes.

It fell pretty flat. "Don't joke. You two aren't marked. Minions are going to be after you,” Dawn explained.

"That's why I said, don't get captured." I agreed. So very green.

Alex nodded. "Ah."

"Alright.." Blossom said.

I glanced at Dawn with a bit of curiosity as I led the three of them to an inn. It was built into what used to be a schoolhouse, so we got what used to be a classroom, subdivided into two rooms to sleep in. It was built for humans, so Dawn would be a bit uncomfortable, but it was the best they had available for us. Personally, a port warehouse hotel might’ve been better, but they were full up.

The auditorium area of the school had been converted to a tavern, so we hung out there for a bit. A few human teams seemed to be using this as a staging area. Of course, as we were in realm now, there were also satyrs, minotaurs, the odd centaur, elves, nymphs and others.

Blossom looked around as I paid, and exchanged a few words with Alex, closely watched by Dawn. Most of the locals were speaking Greek. Most of the hotel patrons were speaking English, but I picked out some Italian, French, and German. Some group even were speaking some other language...maybe Korean or Vietnamese. I couldn’t tell. I got back to my group just as Blossom started wringing her tail and saying she needed some tea.

Dawn was the first to address the elephant in the room. "Question I got for you kids... Do you want to get yourselves marked to a god before we set out?"

"What..why?" Blossom looked confused.

"Perhaps because it's a good idea." Alex posited.

"Once you're marked of your own volition, nobody else can force a mark onto you." Dawn explained.

"I don't like the idea of that.." Blossom said, nervously.

Alex shook his head. "Me neither. I've been marked and whatnot way too much already."

Dawn tried again. "Think of it like a bank. If you choose somewhere to keep your money, then you're tied to that bank in slightly inconvenient ways. If you don't, then everyone knows you're walking around with your life savings in your pocket."

"I don't know what a bank is..." Blossom grumbled.

I sighed. This wasn’t going well. I tried to play Good Cop. "Let it go, Dawn...if they don't want to, then they don't want to."

"Yeah, I get it." Dawn gave up.

Alex wasn’t done, though. "How do these marks work? Are they tattoos only or is it something more?"

"Some use skin colours, some don't... But all of em are a little bit of an aura that everyone else can detect." Dawn elaborated. "I've got an Echidna aura, Nate here's got an Athene aura. I can sense his when I'm with him, he can sense mine."

"Can it be removed?" Blossom again.

"No." Dawn shook her head. "Not with anything even remotely approaching ease."

Alex nodded. "I know it's stupid but I really don't want to be bound to some god."

Dawn shrugs. "Neither did I,” she said, a bit ominously.

"No I don’t like it..even if i do worship Selene i don’t want to be bound to anything..." She sounded more like she was talking herself out of it than explaining to me.

"I'm sorry, but my .. soul ... is all that I really have left. I don't want to give it up on my own accord." Alex said with slight agitation.

I sighed mentally. The difficulty just went up again. "That's fine."

We spent a bit of time chatting, then retired to our room. I warned them that I would be getting them up early so we didn’t waste daylight. The further I could make it each day with these two, the better.

{{seperator|k}}

I woke up the next morning and got stuff situated, waking up my charges about a half an hour before the break of day. It was quite dark out, and Alex rubbed his eyes a bit, complaining that the sun wasn’t even up yet. I made sure they got up, and went to get the breakfast ordered and fill up on food. Dawn kept an eye on them while I did that. Blossom did some prayers.

Alex had an HUGE breakfast. I had to stop him eventually so that he’d still be able to move with us and not be in a food coma. Blossom ate pretty quietly and mostly just picked at her food...she was bothered by something. Alex checked if she was ok, and she said she was, even though it was clearly otherwise. SHe went out for some air, again, watched by Dawn. We’d discussed last night and the general rule we came up with was that neither of them was to be out of our field of view at any time.

And then we were off! We started down the remains of the roads and highways that were left behind when Realmfall occurred. They were pretty tore up and jagged by now, but it was still easier than roughing it. Just a bit of planning was needed, since the concrete tends to break in big chunks. Dawn was flying above to direct us and watch our route, and I was leading my two charges at a moderate pace. I coulda gone faster if I was by myself, but then I wouldn’t be getting paid.

"Well, I can't recommend the planning bureau here..." Alex remarks.

"Kinda hard to make roads when you can't get cement in." I pointed out.

"Asphalt too,” he nodded.

Blossom followed, not saying much, just lost in her own thoughts.

Every once in awhile, Dawn would come down to tell me of minor threat ahead. Oversize serpent or washed out road, usually. We diverted or waited as necessary as I watched the sky, impatient at the burning daylight. I kept them at a solid pace, though...we could cover 15 miles today.

We did have to take occasional breaks. Whenever Blossom started panting from the heat, I’d slow us down or have us take a break, and I made sure she got plenty of water. She didn’t complain about the exertion though. Quite the trooper. Alex, for his part, seemed to be holding up pretty well. Maybe he did a lot of hiking or such. He was clearly too relaxed like it was a vacation, but for a first timer, he at least was doing well with the physical demands.

We encountered some traffic, but it was other groups just going the other way. They were all civilized and so we exchanged small talk and went our ways. I was glad it was just visitors; I didn’t want to run into the stormwings that claimed this territory.

Everything was going smoothly, and...pretty much it all went fine up until early evening, when Dawn came in low and fast over the terrain, just appearing from behind a low ridge. The only reason for that was to decrease her visibility, so I was instantly on alert.

“Shit, Nate, COVER!” she yelled.

I looked for the nearest cover and quickly ushered everyone towards it. “Heads down, all.” I got Blossom and Alexei hidden with some trouble.

Not a moment too soon, either. Two large harpy-shaped creatures with filthy hair and metal feathers...stormwings...came into view; one from behind the ridge, the other over it. They were larger and stockier than Dawn, so less agile. But Stormwings still generally defeat harpies, because of their wings, which are like a series of razorblades.

"Aw crap, it was just starting to be such a nice day." Alex whined.

"Quiet!" I hisses back.

Blossom took out her miniature crossbow. "Shouldn't we help her?"

I shook my head. "Dawn'll be ok." I hoped.

The stormwings landed heavily on the path, blocking our way forward. One was male, the other female. Dawn looped back around towards us and our cover. The male said something in Greek to the female. I didn’t understand it.

Blossom growled a bit and leveled her crossbow at them, inadvertently giving away our position. Alex was trying to keep his gaze diverted, like the reflection of the sun off the metal feathers was blinding him.

I had my crossbow out and ready, but pointed at the ground.

The male spoke. "Eh, seems she don't agree. Well mate, figurin’ we'd drop in, aya? Yer little choppa's a good run, innit?" He had an accent, northeastern US. Almost certainly a forcemark.

"What do you want." Blossom demanded, trying to do my job. Fuck, not only were they green, they thought they were in charge here, too.

The stormwings moved in a bit closer. "C'mon now mate, ain't no needin fer the pointin' a the pieces..." The male pointed a wing at Blossom. "Ah, here we go. I like th'way this'un thinks."

Alex glanced to me from the corner of my vision.

Blossom stood up and stepped forward. "Leave us alone and go back to the skies.." she said with a hint of nervousness.

I gave Alex a reassuring nod and stood up, going to the front of Blossom. "We don't want any trouble."

"Well, li'l miss, me'n m'esteemed partna here were notin' that you seem t'have a bit of whatsay a manpowah shortage. Wouldn't be responsible of us to be leavin' innocent kiddies all lonesome, would it?" He said, a bit too charitably.

Blossom again tried to disrupt the negotiations. "We are in good hands..we do not need your help." she leveled her crossbow at the male.

"There's a crackin, yeah? See now... A fella's gotta live, so I'm meanin to conduct a little business here, that's all there's to it. Folks can be rude all on that, always assumin us stormies are meanin' violence." He gestures his textured-mirror wings emphaticly.

Dawn made a few low circles overhead.

"What kind of business.." Blossom asked?

I tried to push her crossbow down, echoing her sentiment. I needed to get in here as the primary negotiator. "What kind of business?"

"Yer headin' Selene's way, yeah?" the male asked. As if it wasn’t obvious, there’s little else in this direction.

Blossom let me, thank goodness. “Why do you ask?"

I nodded. "We are." *I* was in charge here and I had to assert it.

Blossom glared up at me, growling deeply from her throat. I ignored her.

"Well, maybe it ain't a realmwalker an' two kids going that way. Maybe it's a realmwalker, two kids, and two /stormwings/. Bit more impressive for wardin off who might come atcha." the stormwing proposed.

I heard a noise behind me like Alex hit the dirt, but I couldn’t afford to look back. Dawn could see what was happening and would alert me if it became critical.

I paused. "You make an interesting offer." I said. Gotta be diplomatic.

"What do you want in return?" Blossom said.

Both stormwings looked to Alex. "Somethin's wrong with yer buddy." the male noted.

Blossom looked back. "Alex!" she ran over to him. I didn’t look back, because two stormwings this close could kill me before I turned around. I breathed a mental sigh of relief that Blossom was out of the discussion now.

"I repeat the question. You have offered to accompany us; I wish to know what you desire in return." I said evenly.

"Just some cash, what any other workin' stiff wants. Nuff cash, we might even give you'n the kiddies a ride." Ok, this was getting bad. No rides on stormwings, that’s for sure. "Cuz trust me mate, we ain't near so bad as who's waitin' for ya further up. Though there is one thing you might help me with and I'd happily waive the fee."

“And what is that?” I inquired.

"In a bit of a bind at my temple, ain't far out of yer way, y'know... Couple good folks like yourselves could just put in a little word for me there that I ain't attacking anyone." he explained. No, just extorting them.

The female made a few remarks in Hellenic, gesturing with a wing behind me. So that’s why the male was doing all the talking. He answered in kind, but neither made a move. Mental note: Learn to speak Hellenic.

I weighed my options. The best option I had for the moment was to try to avoid a fight. "You accompany us. On our way back, we will stop at your temple and clear your name."

Dawn shouted down. "Don't fall for it, Nathan." There was my out. "Two unique unmarked kids? No way in hell are they not slitting our throats and stealing off with ‘em."

"Guilty until proven innicint, I'm seein." the male looked a bit annoyed and hurt.

Blossom walked back over. "We decline your offer, please leave...now."

I glanced to Dawn, then the stormwings. At least I had an out now, while still seeming reasonable. "I cannot evaluate your intentions without putting my charges at risk. If you desire, I will pay you, but we do not require your company." There, a fairly even deal for them.

Blossom looked at me. "Are you not working for me..." she asked in a whisper. I held up a finger. My job was to protect her.

"Well... We'd feel terrible if something were to happen to you, but we'll put the word out that you don't need harassing. At least I won't be goin' home with empty talons to the wife'n'chicks, eh?" the male said.

I nodded, then dug out my cash. Coins, in large denominations, counting out into a bag. "Thank you for your time. We apoligize, and I will see about stopping at your temple on the way back."

"Bout a thousand Ceasars will keep the stormwings out of your skies. 500 now, 500 when you're leavin' our territory." ‘Ceasars’ is an occasional realm slang term for “Euros.”

I balked. That was more than the boatride for the four of us! “800.”

"It's a standard fee, fella, this ain't India." the male said with the hint of a threat.

I sighed. I had no other options. "Fine." I counted it out and tossed the pouch over..

Blossom got in the way again. "None.." she voiced as she leveled her crossbow "i suggest you leave."

"Blossom!" Lex shouted, his voice sounding...different.

"Blossom, please leave this to me." I said, firmly and strongly.

The male moved in to check the cash pouch, and took it in his foot. “You're in Athene's club, we know you're good for the remainder on exit. Goes against your code to renege, donnit?"

"It does." I confirmed. No point in trying to weasel out.

The male nodded. "Be seein' ya round, Walker." And then the two stormwings took off and started away, leaving behind a few metal feathers from the takeoff. Blossom promptly reached down and picked up the feathers.

I breathed a sigh of relief for getting out of this, as Dawn took their place by dropping down to the road. I looked over to Dawn.

“Damn.” Alex still sounded different...and now that I finally turned around, I could see why. Shock crossed my face as I saw an anthropomorphic raccoon wearing Alex’s clothing. Tail and all. What the fuck? Did he get marked while my back was turned? Were they that organized, they had a priest with them? No...he didn’t have a mark on him, I couldn’t feel one. Who marked to raccoon anyways...?

I swallowed my shock, to ask the obvious question. “Are you ok, Alex?!” The shock was obvious in my voice.

Dawn seemed to be about the same, reaction wise. “Holy shit...”

Alex looked at me and nodded. "Yes, I'm okay."

Blossom tucked the stormwing feathers into her belt. Souvenier, I guess.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about ... this." Alex said a bit embarrassed.

I relaxed a bit, as I tried to work this one more wrinkle into my plans. After a few moments, I took a deep breath and said, "...ok. Anything else I should know about?"

"The /only/ way I know for you to do that and not be marked is if you're a North American animal spirit... And that you sure as hell ain't." Dawn said, awestruck.

"He's a shifter..." Blossom said, like it explained everything.

Alex nodded. "Not one of the most gifted ones either."

"How the /fuck/ do you do that without drawing on divine magic?" Dawn, again with her style.

I let her ask the questions. They were the same ones on my mind, anyways.

"We’re not from here, or any of the realms." Blossom stated simply. So they WERE from a pocket realm.

I tried to regain composure. We couldn’t stand here, and we could have the discussion on the way. "Ok. Let's get started again, and you explain a bit more on the way."

"I'd heard that, but... Hearin' it and seeing the evidence are two wholly different things." Dawn said, still awestruck.

Alex nodded. "Okay. Blossom, will you put away those feathers, I need to shift back." So...shiny things made him shift? How ironic.

"Careful with those feathers, too... People make knives out of those things." Dawn added.

Blossom blinked and shrugged, putting the feathers inside her robes.

Alex took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and then started shifting back. By the gods, he actually could shift. Man, how impressive.

But we could discuss this over the campfire more. I got them going again so we could get to a good campsite out of stormwing territory, or in good cover, by nightfall. Cooked dinner, rested my muscles...we’d make Selene’s grove tomorrow and then the first half of the danger would be over. Lex offered to take first shift of watch with Dawn, so I got some of my sleep right after I ate, mind awash with the implications of Alex’s shifting.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_the_Clients|Meeting the Clients]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire_Chat|Campfire Chat]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/The Next Move

2013-09-13T11:59:56Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:The Next Move}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

I turned away from the mirror and was blinded instantly by the brightness. Even though I was underground, the light here in the temple was absolutely glaring after a week in the Underworld. I rubbed my eyes, blinking away the pain as I dropped to one knee. Someone came over and helped me up, and spoke briefly in Hellenic, trying to lead me away a bit. I couldn’t see him, but I felt the Athene mark, so I followed. He led me a ways and got me sat down on a bench carved into the wall, then walked away. I couldn’t see, but there was nothing wrong with my hearing.

After a short while, I heard more footsteps approaching. I was still blinking furiously, but I was starting to be able to make things out again. It was the same mirror room I’d left from, nothing had really changed. Silver mirror, two marble Athene statues. I was still squinting as the priests approached.

“Devout Renfrew, are you alright?” one of them said.

I nodded, looking at him with bleary eyes. “I’m fine. I’m here.” I rubbed my eyes again as one of the priests looked me over for injuries. I was hurt in a few places, of course, but nothing that was going to kill me. I looked up at the priest who was speaking English.

“Where is your group?” he asked me. “We had the sphinx come through recently, but we didn’t expect you to follow so soon...is everyone alright?”

I nodded. The healer offered me a mug with a drink in it, and I drank it. Cold water...I drank greedily for a moment, then set it down. “Everyone’s fine. They’re waiting on the other end of the mirror with the soul.” The priest looked incredulous at me. “Yes, we managed to retrieve it. I’m not quite sure how, but we did.” I said, then took another long draw off the water. I hadn’t realized how parched I was...we’d all been cutting back on supplies a bit the last few days to stretch...but maybe it was an effect of the mirror? I wasn’t sure. I was just glad it was there.

The priest nodded as the healer stepped back, giving the priest a thumbs up. Obviously, I checked out.

“And why are they waiting?” he asked. “Will they be through soon?”

I shook my head. “They’re waiting for me to come back. We got some information and needed someone to check.”

“Oh...” He paused. “...you met the other group, then. They didn’t cause you any trouble, I hope?”

I shook my head. “We were after the same goal. Are you ok? Did they do anything here? How’d they convince you to help them?” We were talking past each other.

He looked at me and put his hands on my shoulder. “Calm down, devout. You’re safe here, and there’s less of a hurry. We can sort this out.” He nodded. “We are alright, here.” he reassured me. “They made proper tribute...two days service on the grounds.”

I winced a bit. They wouldn’t have been forced into anything, but I had an idea from my training in Athens how much work that was. Lots and lots of elbow grease polishing things, trimming plants. It’s not terribly hard work, just...mind-numbingly boring, and there’s a lot of it. It at least explained how they got there. “Alright.” I nodded, finishing off the water and offering the cup back to the healer, with a “Thank you.” He nodded and went off to perform his other duties. I turned back to the priest.

“You...Renfrew, congratulations. We’re glad you’ve returned,” he reiterated. So was I.

“Unfortunately...I’m gonna have to go back down there again...hopefully not for long. I came up to get some information and ask for help...they sent me because I’m the Athene mark.”

The priest nodded. “What would you need? Athene smiles on you; all you must do is ask.”

“Wisdom, first and foremost. Do souls from the Underworld dissipate here?”

He nodded to me. “They do. Did you not know this?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t...so that was the truth...” I pulled the bottle out of my pack, and offered it to him. “I...need this to be looked at. The sphinx...Vikkinet, offered it to us as a way to transport Nick’s soul through the mirror here so it wouldn’t dissipate, but given that this vessel originally came from Bast...none of us trusted that it was what she said it was.”

The priest took it, carefully, looking it over. He examined it, and suddenly I felt the flare of a Bast mark. He nodded to me. “A wise decision...we’ll take this to the high priest and see what he says. This is beyond my ability to analyze.” He offered me a hand and I took it, as he helped me up. I could finally see again without blinking all the time.

Helping to lead me, the priest led me up to a higher level of the temple, to a plain room. It seemed to be a waiting area of some kind. “He should be in shortly, and then he can analyze this artifact."

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Out_of_the_Darkness|Out of the Darkness]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/|Arrow_Quivershaft/]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness

2013-09-13T11:59:00Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Out of the Darkness}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

"Aw fuck," Alex groaned softly, saying what was on everyone’s mind as we approached. I watched the beast closely, not sure if we were going to have to fight again here. It watched us, but it didn’t get up to move. This one was a fair bit smaller, and lighter colored, than the one we encountered previously. Blossom dug into her robe and pulled out the familiar flask, but she was behind me, so the cerberus didn’t see it.

I stood there for a moment, evaluating. The riverbank here was only about 20 feet wide, and we already knew that the river wasn’t a safe option, so running seemed to be out of the question. That said, it didn’t seem to even be getting up, just watching us with curiousity at the moment...though that didn’t mean I was going to let my guard down.

"We need to be ready to fight if needed,” I said. “But let's see if we can get by without one." We were all pretty hurting by this point; Alex and Dawn were also exhausted from walking all the time. So any conflict we could avoid...

"Alright, then let us continue." Blossom said, putting the flask away, and looking at the soul. She’d really gotten more risk averse on the way up...I was glad for that. Then she looked back to the cerberus. "It looks odd.." she commented.

I started up. "It's a different one, I think."

"What happened to the other?" she asked, her and the rest following me.

"I guess it lost it's job." Alex said. Timmy grunted, looking ready for a fight. I had my sword in my hand, in case it tried something, but I wasn’t very confident I’d be good in close quarters against something this big. Still...better than nothing. That said, the thing just sat there watching us with two of the three heads. Blossom waved to the thing as we got close.

"Ey," said the two heads watching us, in unison.

"Hello." I said, turning on the diplomacy again.

"Greetings," Blossom said, turning on the cute.

"Are we permitted to pass?" I asked carefully.

"Go for it,” said the left head. “I'm here to keep people out, not in."

"Oh, ok..." I said, not really having expected that kind of easy outcome. I wasn’t going to question it, though. “Thanks.” I started out.

"Have a good run?" said the center head.

"Well, no we are just travelling," Blossom said, probably misinterpreting the realmwalker slang.

"Hmm, pretty good, I think." Alex said with a nod. Easy for him to say, he was probably the least hurt of any of us.

"Yes." I agreed. We didn’t need to show weakness. I headed through the gate with the others, and looked up at the moon as everyone else followed through. It was...refreshing to have overhead light again. Even the relative darkness of the moon seemed impossibly bright after 3 days underground.

They all followed me through, Blossom giving a polite wave as she did.

{{separator|k}}

We had to break for camp after we got up out of the blast crater the castle was in, but it was a relatively quick stop. We ate, slept, and got back on our way. We were running kinda low on supplies, and we all wanted to get out of the underworld, so we were all pushing ourselves just a bit harder. The morale was better too.

We spent the next day getting back to the tributary river and following it up. Some things I’d noticed had shifted, but not much. We had a few fights, but nothing noteworthy. Nobody was dead. We had to take it slower for the injuries, and because we were going uphill, but having Dawn and Alex back in the sky again really helped.

Towards the ‘evening’, we were heading up the last half-mile to the mirror. It was still dark, but things were looking familiar. Blossom was mumbling something to the soul, which wasn’t responding. But it seemed to comfort her to talk to it, so I saw no harm in it. I noticed Dawn circling around, probably looking for bat-creatures, since she didn’t want another of those fights, and then she circled down towards a lower orbit. Alex followed along with her.

“Mirror ho!” she called down to me. I looked up at her at that and nodded, signalling with my hand. We’d made it!

We pushed on towards the mirror, everyone’s energy seemed to be a bit higher. Dawn landed near us, starting to hop along, Alex mirroring the action a bit farther away to avoid salad-shooting anyone.

"I'm... actually surprised we pulled this off," Dawn said as we got near the top of the hill that the mirror was on. Alex chuckled, though I didn’t find it as funny. Sure, jinx it at the finish line. That said, it was the same thing I was thinking, so I wasn’t going to say anything about it.

As we got up to the top of the hill to crest the ridge in front of the mirror, I looked forward at the mirror...but I wasn’t expecting what I saw there. There were four people there, looking like they were getting their bearings. Had they just come through? I quickly sized up the situation. There were two skoll marked to Fenrir, a hemt marked to Horus, and...a sphinx, marked to Bast. Though she’s the only god that does sphinx, so that was obvious.

Shit. There was no way they hadn’t seen us, and Bast of course would’ve wanted Nick’s soul back herself. So it was fight with us in the depleted state we were in, or try diplomacy. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, hoping that there was going to be some peaceful resolution to this.

“Hello?” I stepped forward, calling out to the other group. I raised my lightstick up, and took the front position of my group, keeping them behind me. I was kicking myself mentally, mind racing. We’d just given Bast a week to catch up, and we hadn’t been subtle about our hiring reasons. It probably had been easy as pie for them to find us. Did they know where the body was? If they did, would they need us alive?

Hell, for that matter, how had they even gotten through the Athene temple? I could feel the distaste Athene had for Fenrir and Bast through my marksense. I wasn’t sure I’d like the answer to my question.

"Hi," one of the skoll said blandly, scrutinizing us. Skoll are like anthropomorphic wolves, except they’re plantigrade. Now that I could see him better, it was clear he was male, along with the hemt (short, scorpion-tailed fennec fox anthro). The other skoll looked like she was female, though they were all armed for bear.

“Hello.” Blossom said shyly, uncertainly. Good, even she knew this wasn’t a great situation.

I looked back to the skoll. "Can we assist you, or may we pass?" Just get past them and into the mirror and we were safe. Unless they’d fought their way through the temple or something, but then how’d they get through the mirror...it didn’t make any sense to me.

"We're lookin' fer wherever souls on their way t' th' afterlife'd go." the male skoll said. His mark had an odd ‘flavor’. Like he was in the direct displeasure of Fenrir himself. I’d heard of Shame-Marks before, but I’d never encountered one.

Dawn held up a wing as a wave, as she moved to my side. "Just head for water and follow it downstre-"

Blossom suddenly cut her off, levelling a finger at the male skoll angrily and shouting, “YOU!” I looked back at her. SHIT. Now this was going to go off the rails...Alex was suspiciously quiet at that.

"What'd I do now?" the skoll asked, not entirely surprised, just...like he wasn’t sure which of many actions it was.

Blossom looked at us, and then back. “This is Aaron, yes?” she asked. Hell if I knew, it was dark, he was silhouetted by the mirror, and his fur was all black.

"I is me, yeah," the skoll said, seemingly intentionally mangling the sentence. He was clearly the leader in that group by the way the others looked at him. The hemt glanced around, tail curled up behind him. I looked to Blossom, not sure if I should interrupt her. No one had made a move yet, so at least that was encouraging.

"You killed Nkosi..." Blossom accused, narrowing her eyes at Aaron.

"Yeah, he did. Why?" the female skoll said, looking a bit confused. Her mark didn’t have the same “Shame” feeling that Aaron’s did.

"When someone tries t' kill ya, you usually hafta kill'em right back." Aaron said. Was this the same one from the news? If so, he wasn’t a skoll...but I couldn’t tell any difference readily.

"You killed Nick too!" Blossom shouted in rage. So this WAS the one from the news.

I started briefly. We needed damage control, NOW. "Blossom. Please let me handle this, thank you."

"..and that's why I'm down in fuckin' spookyland, alright?" Aaron shot back.

"You intend to retrieve Nkosi's soul?" I said, trying to calm the situation down.

"Don't bother..." Blossom growled threateningly. Gods, she was interesting, but a total liability in most negotiations.

"Pussywillow can blow himself.” Aaron spat. “I'm here fer Nick."

"Easy, hon," the other skoll said in a low voice, stepping over to gently scratch Aaron’s back. He calmed a bit, but didn’t seem to like Blossom’s attitude. So they were a couple, too.

"Blossom, let me handle this." I said, raising my voice a bit to make it clear this wasn’t up for debate. She glared at me, but shut up for the moment.

"They are one and the same..." the sphinx said, continuing to stare at Blossom.

"We have the soul and intend to return it to the body." I said, trying to reach a middle ground.

"Well good. We walked all th' fuckin' way fer nothin'." Aaron said angrily.

"Have I... missed something?" the hemt said to Aaron.

"I don't know. People here think I \know\ what's goin' on,” Aaron muttered in anger.

"... Wait. You guys already got him?" the female skoll said, looking a bit surprised.

"That's the fox Nkosi kicked out of Tel Aviv,” the sphinx said. “He didn't want Bast to get her, so I got to play taxi."

Blossom stopped glaring at me and aimed it back at Aaron. “Nick’s right here.” She pointed at the soul-ball that had been following her the last few days.

I nodded in agreement. “We did get him,” I confirmed.

"... Well, that makes things simple." the female said.

"..an' here I thought I was gonna hafta reenact a few levels of Doom." Aaron said, seeming slightly disappointed.

"You are Mr. Aaron Dowrey, correct?" I said, trying to reach a common ground.

"Yeh. I am." Aaron said. Good. Now we could get to business.

I nodded back to him. "I’m Nathan Renfrew, professional Realm Walker. I have been the guide of Blossom and Alex for the last month and a half...if you desire, you may accompany us to the body to restore the soul."

"Th' body? Still got his own?" Aaron said. So they didn’t know where the body was...good, we had leverage.

Blossom seemed to calm down, looking at Aaron "I know you had no choice...I am sorry for my anger." she apologized. I’m not sure if it was sincere, but the gesture was at least welcome. "The body is back in the grove." And there went our leverage.

"Good. Th' guy's been through \way\ too many bodies," Aaron said. There was something here I didn’t know, but it wasn’t my concern at the moment.

The hemt gestured to me, speaking in a light arabic accent. Maybe a forcemark. "I like the way this fellow thinks." He said.

"Storytelling can wait, as for taking the soul back to the body that isn't happening." the sphinx said, ominously. She got a few glances from both groups from that, but backed up.

"Wait, I thought these were exactly the people we couldn't trust, hon?" Dawn said to me, trying to be quiet. I shot her a “SHUT UP” look. I didn’t need this.

Aaron eyed Dawn. "Couldn't trust.....why?" Bloody hell. The sphinx sat on her haunches with a sigh, flicking her tail.

"Whatever. Nevermind." Dawn said, trying to cover.

"What do you mean, not going to happen?" Blossom asked the sphinx.

"Go back and the spirit will dissipate into nothingness,” the sphinx explained. "Souls can't survive topside alone."

"...so, whatcha mean, Vikkinet? Take th' body \here?\" Aaron asked. There was another name.

"No...plan B, and time to come clean with you guys." she smiles at the skoll and hemt.

The hemt uncoiled his tail, looking carefully over at the sphinx. I looked at Vikkinet uncertainly, too, reaching for my crossbow.

Blossom blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Paki here is smarter then he gets credit for." Vikkinet said, nodding to the hemt. PAKI? Of all the names he could have, and he chose THAT? I know hemt are blasphemous little smartasses, but...

The hemt saw my expression and quickly said, “It means “Witness” in Xhosa, a South African language.” Oh. Well, that made it a little bit better.

I brought my crossbow into my hand, keeping it lowered to the ground as I watched Vikkinet...all eyes were on her by this point, as she lowered her head to the ground and spat up something.

"So...how about...Jesus Christ!" Aaron exclaimed. The two skoll reached for their weapons, the female for a dart pistol, Aaron for a sword. Blossom jumped back a bit. Vikki wiped her mouth with a paw and stepped back with a “bleh!” sound.

The female skoll stepped back, looking in disgust at the object that was on the ground. We all moved back a bit, watching carefully until we saw what it was. I kept a tight grip on my weapon while analyzing the object...it appeared to be a metal bottle. Ornately carved, golden gilded, but still a bottle.

"Gah that sucked,” Vikkinet said. She turned to Blossom. “Anyway, little fox person. Come on over and grab this thing. The spirit can survive within it, so you can take it to Selene." Vikkinet held up the bottle in her paw carefully.

"... Time to come clean?!" the female skoll said. "Jeeze, Vikki, you had us ready to shoot you!"

"No, no. Wait. What th' FUCK!?" Aaron shouted, looking at her suspiciously.

Blossom made a disgusted face. "Alright...I guess.." she said in a wary tone, stepping forward.

"Bast gave me this bottle with orders to take his spirit back to her." Vikkinet said. So, she WAS a plant. But it looked like the other three weren’t in on her plan.

"Stop! Wait a sec!" Aaron yelled.

I agreed with him. We needed to hear more of this story. "Wait, Blossom."

Blossom stopped. “Why?” I motioned for her to listen and looked back to Vikkinet.

"I however am refusing to do so," the sphinx concluded.

"Then are you certain that anyone else besides her can open it?" the female skoll asked Vikki. The hemt dropped to his hands and feet. Four on the floor gave his tail more range of motion, I guessed. He didn’t look happy either.

"Selene should be," Vikkinet said.

"And who's Selene?" the female skoll asked.

"Her goddess," Vikkinet said, nodding to Blossom.

"I don't trust this, Kate..." Paki said. So that was the last name I needed. Good.

"I don't fucking trust this..."

"Selene is the goddess of the moon,” I confirmed. “And...I have to note my caution as well."

"Ya just mentioned Bast gave ya orders," Aaron pointed out, the distrust clear in his voice.

"... And apparently shoved a bottle down your throat," Kate said.

"How can I be sure Nick will be safe in that bottle?" Blossom said, uncertainly. Good, she was learning.

Dawn looked up to me and said quietly. "On the list of things that I thought was going to happen when we got back to the mirror, this... I did not expect." I nodded to her in agreement. This was totally out of left field. Still, it was better than meeting an entire Bast task team. That would’ve been a bad fight...here, it looked like Vikkinet stood alone

"Bast demanded my presense that day and gave me the orders to capture his soul and bring it to her,” Vikki explained. “I asked her why, she said she wanted it and /might/ give him a body someday. Other then that she'll put it on her mantle. Being a spirit trapped in a bottle to be observed by a goddess is no way to live out an existence,” she said, pausing. "So here, take the bottle and take him to his body."

"...I don't like it," Aaron said with a shake of his head.

"... I don't either," Kate noted, looking warily at Vikkinet.

"Nor I," I agreed.

"Waaaaay too contrived," Aaron said.

"Like it or not this bottle is the only way to preserve his spirit," Vikkinet said. She had a point. If what she said was true, we were kinda over a barrel here.

"Why th' fuck did ya not \mention\ this in th' first place?" Aaron asked, angrily.

"I think I can offer a mutually agreeable compromise," Paki said, tail twitching. "We slit her fucking throat, and half of us go grab said body." Thankfully, no one seemed to take that idea too seriously for the moment.

"No, it's the only way we have on /hand/." Kate said, glaring at Vikkinet.

Blossom backed up, stepping back behind me halfway. Dawn was plastered to my side as well. Timmy and Alex were off to my left and back, both seeming to let this play out, just ready to jump in if a fight started.

"You wouldn't believe that I was going to Selene with it," Vikkinet said. “That’s why I didn’t say.”

"No /shit/," Paki sneered.

"No fuckin' kiddin'!" Aaron echoed.

"Bast specifically mentioned Selene were to not get the spirit, a.k.a that's where "Nick" died," Vikkinet said. She seemed honestly contrite, but...she could’ve been picked for this mission for that skill. And even if she was telling the truth, there’s no reason that Bast would’ve told her everything.

"Sorry, Vikki,” Kate said. “I wouldn't believe that you're not just giving us a bottle that no one besides Bast can open."

"Yes, I will not hand him over to you," Blossom agreed. Common sense victory.

Vikkinet put the bottle back down. "Then what do you suggest?" she said.

"Fuck th' bottle, these folks send some people t' get Nick's bod, then retrieve it.” Aaron said. “I an' other folks'll guard th' soul."

"My compromise solution is looking pretty nice,” Paki said, tail still twitching.

"Where is the body? How far from here?" Kate asked, looking at us.

"It'll take two weeks, there and back." Vikkinet said.

I ignored her, giving my own estimate. "Four days walk. One way." And that was assuming I was at the head being a taskmaster.

Kate looked at me, then at Vikki, then back at me. "So just over a week," she said. "What'll happen to the soul if we don't guard it?"

"I don't wanna find out." Aaron said. That I could agree with, too. The guy had a slightly better head on his shoulders than I’d expected.

"Look, all the gods have comparable powers,” Vikkinet protested. “Selene will be able to open the bottle...as for "handing him over to me" I want /you/ to keep the bottle." she said, aiming the last part at Blossom.

"How do i know you’re not lying...?” Blossom said, accusingly.

"I know I don't have a lick of trust, I never have among you guys and I really haven't cared,” Vikkinet monologued. “I'm out of Tel Aviv, and intend to live the rest of my life free from deranged goddesses. I wouldn't want Bast to stare at my soul in a bottle every day smiling. I wouldn't condemn a guy like him to that fate."

"Okay, okay. You said, 'I know you don't trust me, but...trust me?'" Aaron pointed out.

"Because you were one of his girls?" Kate asked Vikk flatly.

"Yeah and he was one of us, he gave a damn and died for us." Vikkinet countered to her.

"Despite having known only the piece of him that Bast twisted into her own little inept Vader?" Paki said. Ahh, the standard hemt charm...or lack thereof.

"I've given you guys the whole spiel, he didn't have a choice,” Vikkinet huffed. “Kinda happens when you land in an ocean and become a personal pet."

"I would feel better if we brought his body here." Blossom said to me. “I don’t want anything to do with Bast.”

"He didn't choose his fate, it was chosen for him unjustly so fuck it. Why let her get her way when she's fucked with everyone I care about," Vikkinet argued. She turned to Blossom. "You aren't, god do you guys not listen or something."

"I ain't gonna risk Nick bein' buttfucked from this. Fuck yer bottle, then eat it again." Aaron growled.

“The only problem we'd have with that would be supplies for the people who are guarding the body, and specifically dealing with the priests on the other side," Kate said to Blossom.

"Here's the game plan, soul in bottle, bottle goes to Selene, soul in body." Vikkinet said confidently.

"..but we don't know how th' bottle works!" Aaron shouted, gripping his sword again.

They had issues with the priests? That might be my in. "You came here from Athene's temple, correct?" I asked them.

"Yes," Aaron threw back to me, still aggressively staring at Vikkinet.

Kate looked over and nodded to me, more calmly. "Yeah, we did," she agreed.

"You open it and he goes in, then let a priest or Selene herself open it so the soul doesn't dissolve." Vikkinet said.

"Yet \you\ are th' person who made |NO| mention of it!" Aaron roared at the sphinx.

"But why would /Selene/ help us?" Kate asked. I was losing them.

"She will help, she's keeping Nicks body alive right now." Blossom said confidently.

I raised my voice a bit so I could be heard. "I was Marked at the temple you just came through. I have no problem 'dealing with them.'" I didn’t like that last turn of phrase, but it was an easy way to make the point.

Kate heard me and motioned to me with the rest of her group. "Well, there's our ticket."

Paki suddenly lashed out, attempting to bring his tail to Vikki's neck. It didn’t penetrate, but the knife-to-throat analog was obvious. Vikkinet glanced to the stinger at her throat, but otherwise went very, very still.

Aaron twitched and turned back to the motion. "HEY!" For the love of gods, if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. All eyes turned to the standoff, Alex backing up and spreading his wings slightly.

"Stop!" Blossom shouted.

"His tail paralyzes. /Relax/," Kate said to everyone around. I knew that, but everyone else, not as much.

"Still acting like she calls the shots here...” Paki growled. “Someone /very/ much needs a reminder of how tenuous she has just made her position here."

"Big whoop if it gives her a 'nother breathin' hole..." Aaron muttered.

"Hmph, can't we think of this logically...” Vikki said carefully. “Let me explain really quick."

"No," Kate said to Vikki.

"I \did\ think this through logically,” Aaron said flatly. “I. Don't. Trust. You."

"You're done," Kat agreed.

"Why would I reveal everything and expect to get away with "orders" around a bunch of armored folk?" Vikkinet pleaded.

"You've said your piece,” Paki said. “It's time for the /proven/ to make their choices about what's going to happen now."

"Because you're carrying an ace we don't know about." I agreed, aiming the main statement at Vikki.

Kate’s hackles went up fast. She was MAD. "And why would you act all coy and tell us Paki was right about you all along if you were trying to /help/ us?" she practically barked at the sphinx. "If you're trying to help us, you're /horrible/ at the diplomacy!"

"He was right I was keeping something, hell what would you expect me to say when you inevitably asked why I spit out a magical bottle? Where'd I get it, the pawn shop?" Vikkinet protested, knowing she was losing ground.

"Tellin' us th' day we left th' realm \may\ have been smarter," Aaron countered.

Blossom tugged on my clothing, showing me the same flask from earlier with what little tranquilizer poison she had left. I looked at it, and shook my head. Not yet, and we didn’t have time to prepare to use it. She nodded, and pocketed the flask as we both turned back to the tumult.

"Paki, if you please," Kate says, motioning to Vikki. The hemt looked to Aaron for confirmation.

"Yeah,” he gave it. “Don't kill'er, though."

Kate turned back to us. "If Bast can produce a bottle like that, then so can Selene," she says, motioning. "And if Ba...." she said.

Suddenly, Vikkinet tried to swipe the hemt tail away when Paki looked away. It bounced back towards the sphinx’s flank without any real effort, attempting to strike. The sphinx jumped away with a snort, but the stinger hit home, jabbing into her shoulder and pressing in hard. Vikkinet winced and staggered a bit, but didn’t immediately show any effects. I’d heard hemt venom wasn’t terribly fast acting...guess that was the truth. Then again, the sphinx was also pretty big.

Kate flash-reacted as well. Her dart pistol came out and up in both of her hands, aimed at Vikki. "Vikki, stop or I'll shoot."

"Stop it!" Blossom yelled.

Vikkinet winced. "Shit!" she says landing on all fours. "How dare you...murderers in the first place judging me. All I've ever spoken of this whole time is my intention to retrieve him. You caused the problem and an innocent guy died...I want to go live the rest of my life elsewhere away from Tel Aviv..." she whined. "I can't be trusted because I wear this form, having been fucked over for over a decade from a goddess who uses us as her pawns."

"Vikki, we don't trust you because of what you've /done/," Kate said. "We obviously trust Paki." She kept the dart pistol trained on the sphinx as Paki backed away from the much larger sphinx quickly.

"Which is absolutely nothing, but spit out a bottle," Vikki protested. "I needed help getting the soul back myself, I wanted to fly to Selene but since they've shown up it's quite convenient." She sat down, panting. The venom was probably starting to affect her.

"And introduce it with the line 'Paki was right about me', after which you proceed to tell us that Bast gave you orders..." Kate said, accusingly.

Paki sniffed. “Does anyone else smell bullshit?” Alex stepped in front of Blossom, who allowed him as we all watched the drama. I motioned for us to be quiet. This was their issue to sort out, not ours.

"So coming clean is the worst course of action..." Vikkinet moped.

"Coming clean /now/, as Paki has already pointed out. Paki, does that venom of yours /shut people up/?" Kate asks angrily.

“Usually,” the hemt said in an oddly detached fashion.

Vikkinet turned to us, giving Blossom a tired look. "Do as you intended, return him to life."

"I will, but on my own terms," Blossom said.

"Which is what we're gonna do,” Aaron confirmed. “However, it's not gonna be by yer plan."

"Then finish the job...it's what we've all worked for together, ironically." Vikki said, a hurt tone in her voice.

"We'll get riiiight on it. As fer you, head on back, okay?" Aaron said.

"Whether you collapse in a harmless temple or collapse in a monster-infested wasteland makes no difference to us." Paki said, driving the point home.

"I think you should leave.." Blossom bid Vikki.

Vikkinet panted further, nodding to Blossom. She turned back towards the mirror, gritting her teeth and trying to force herself back through. “Just don’t kill him again,” she said. ANd then she vanished through the mirror as it glowed, disappearing from in front of us.

Aaron gave her a mocking salute as she vanished. "Good fuckin' riddance."

"So long as she doesn't sell us up the river on the other side..." Kate mumbled. I doubted that. I figured Vikkinet would be expelled from the temple pretty fast if she tried.

"Whatever, now what?" Timmy piped up.

Blossom looks at the soul. "Sorry Nick, just a bit longer okay..." she said softly.

"Well, similar plan I guess. Courier under a diff'rent god," Aaron said. “Selene.”

"Or Athene." I said.

Aaron nodded. "Yeah. Other options, fer th' love o' God."

"... Or Athene. Right here in Greece." Kate agreed. Timmy sighed, looking around.

I looked at them. "So, are we planning to bring the body here, or the soul there?"

"What if the bitch is right an' he'll dissipate?" Timmy said, bringing up a valid point. He looked at the bottle on the ground, but made no move to grab it.

"That's a matter o' risk,” Aaron said. “Is it safer t' get a different vessel an' bring him there, or get his body here?"

Blossom stared at the bottle as well. "We don't even know if we could reopen it.."

"Depends,” I said to Aaron. “I can't carry his body myself."

"Easier to one-way it," Dawn pointed out.

"Easier, but we have to ask for a favor from a god, which is not always the best idea." I said.

"Ease an' safety aren't th' same." Aaron agreed.

"I would ask but Nick follows me," Blossom said.

Kate turned to me, glancing curiously. "Could you, perhaps, ask the temple of Athene?" she asked me. "Since you said that's where you're marked."

"Or use that bottle, either way I don't really care. Think a priest'll have some kinda vessel? Nate, should you go over an' ask 'bout it?" Timmy said. Now I was wishing he would shut up again.

"I could ask. I cannot guarantee a favorable answer." I responded to Kate.

"Yeah. Info's best," Aaron said, nodding to Timmy. "\Any\ answer over th' cat-bastard."

"Let's just hurry up, been down here long 'nough." Timmy said. That, I could agree with.

"Take the bottle too,” Blossom said. “Ask them if it can be reopened by anyone else other than Bast."

"Yeah. Bring th' thingie, too." Aaron agreed.

I nodded to Blossom. "That is a good idea." I went to collect the bottle, picking it up like it was diseased. But nothing happened immediately, so I figured I was safe for now. "Alright. I shall go over, and come back. I leave Dawn in charge of my group in my absence."

Blossom nodded and sat down on a flat rock.

Kate nodded. "We'll be ... right here."

I looked to Dawn. "Be safe; I shall return as soon as able." I headed for the mirror, and started focusing on it, trying to will myself through. I heard them talking behind me, as I did.

"Man...kind of underwhelmin', this. Kinda expected fire, brimstone, an' balrog." Aaron said.

"Hey man, watch what you wish for," Timmy responded. The two of them seemed to have a few things in common.

"Oh I ain't \wishin'...\" Aaron said.

"Yeah..." Kate said.

"Should have seen Cerberus." Blossom said.

"Three-headed dog that guards th' gates?" Aaron asked.

"...So you guys ran into monsters, then." Kate concluded.

“Very rude dog yes.." Blossom said.

"Yeah, lucky you met up with us." Timmy said.

"Whyzzat?" Aaron asked.

"Good luck gettin' past all the bullshit we did." Timmy noted. Cocky bastard; we’d barely made it ourselves.

"Passing in the night? Yach..." Paki said.

After that, I felt the now-familiar falling sensation associated with the mirror, and focused again. It was easier this time...I guess my body wanted to be in the middle realm more. It would make sense. Regardless, the mirror gleamed, and suddenly I found myself back in the temple, staring out at the platform in the underworld before the mirror went blank again.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/In_the_Hall_of_the_Dead|In the Hall of the Dead]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/The_Next_Move|The Next Move]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/In the Hall of the Dead

2013-09-13T11:58:04Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:In the Hall of the Dead}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

I didn’t have to wait long. A translucent human being walked through the doors after a moment and looked us over. “What?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blossom pull her hood up. Seems she didn’t want to talk, for once. Thank gods.

I looked at the...being a bit edgily. I didn’t really know how to address this being...and it was staring at me. It must’ve known I knocked. I paused, then opened my mouth. "Hello; I am Nathan Renfrew. I'm here in connection to the spirit of one Nick Snider." I tried to be as clear as possible in the speech to make sure nothing could be misinterpreted.

The being formed up a bit, taking on a vaguely male body shape, though still misty and translucent. He looked us over again. "About time."

"Apologies to keep you waiting." I said, sincerely.

The man looked back to me and spoke again. "Alright, here's the situation. You want to take him. We want him gone. Logically, giving him to you would make everyone happy.” He paused with a sigh. “But we can't do that. Not /on purpose/."

Great. So close, and still so far... "So you need an accident." I said.

"Or a loophole. Whatever." the man said with a nod.

"He marked himself to Bast. His soul is claimed by another. Does that count?" I asked. I doubted it would, but it was what I had readily come to mind.

"Not even close." The man confirmed my fears.

I nodded a bit. "Ok. I'm not the most versed in the rules of the Underworld, so...you're gonna have to help a bit." I paused. "Unless that's forbidden."

"Give the guy a cookie, he catches on quick." the man said. Shit, so we were on our own here.

"So you want us to take him back, but you cannot give him to us. What if we were to use force?" Blossom said, opening her mouth and suggesting a ill-advised course of action. Yes, let’s just start a fight with people who are already dead. Can’t possibly go poorly!

I stomached my sarcasm and looked back to her. "Blossom, please leave this to me at this moment." She looked at me curiously, but did close her mouth. Thankfully.

"I doubt you can even get through the door, let alone take down the Fates, the Judge, the Spectre, and all of the minions." the man said seriously, seemingly not offended by the suggestion of combat.

"Curious, why you want him gone anyway?" Timmy asked.

"Half of him belongs in Elysium, half in Tartarus,” the man said. “We cannot send him to either, as we're bound to the rules."

"Elysium and Tartarus?" Timmy asked.

"Paradise and eternal torment, respectively." I explained.

"...ugh." Timmy said.

"Hrm." Alex said, looking thoughtful.

"So this debate is gonna continue for eternity since his soul can't be split in half to send to each?" Dawn surmised. Well, that at least accounted for what happened to Nkosi.

"Effectively, yes,” the guy nodded.

"So how're we gonna get our hands on 'im?" Timmy asked. Blunt, direct, not too bright. Good muscle for the group, but not much else.

"Can we at least speak with him?" Blossom asked, turning on the charm.

"He promised he'd stay with Bast forever. That means that he should be assigned to the Egyptian afterlife instead of this one. He was simply unlucky in his location." I posited to the man.

"They're all the same afterlives, just by different names," the ghost said, shrugging a bit. So that wasn’t it either.

I paused, thinking. After a moment, I spoke. "We just escorted several lost souls down here. One of them we 'intended' to keep.” I said. “Possibility of a bureaucratic hiccup is probably too low to account for this accident, I'm guessing?"

"I have no idea what you're asking me," the ghost said. Apparently I wasn’t clear enough.

"We request that single soul back. You bring us the wrong one. We take your problem with us on the way out," I explained.

"That'd be nice, but it requires me to fuck up on purpose," the ghost said, rolling his eyes a bit.

I changed tack again. "Then I request Nick Snider's soul in payment for the service provided."

"Request denied.”

This was beginning to get irritating...we were SO close. "Fine. One moment."

"What about a trade?" Blossom asked. I looked at her curiously. Was she serious?! I heard a sigh from Alex.

"If you have claim on a soul that was not brought in from topside, you might have reason to go in and retrieve it.” the ghost said. He continued, “Trades don't happen. Purchases don't happen. You want a dollar value put on /your/ soul?"

"I didn't say anything about buying him..i suggested trading one soul for another." Blossom protested.

"Screw tradin', what'll it take for us to get his soul and run the fuck away with it?" Timmy said, seeming to be itching for a fight. Gods damn it, this was going to hell fast.

I turned to Timmy with a glare. "Do you really want a fight here? We're already pretty battered, and we still need to get out."

"How did you people get this far?" the shade said, echoing my sentiment.

"I'm just sayin', what's it gonna take? Lets stop beatin' around the bush an' get to the point." Timmy said.

"And I literally /can't/ tell you, dumbass." the shade shot at Timmy.

"Then why the hell didja come out here?" Well, that was at least a legitimate question.

"So I'll tell you what. Toss your camp on the floor here.” The shade suggested. “Nothing will come in to harass you, but keep watch anyways. Confer amongst each other and figure out what you need to. Knock when you're ready.” He paused, looking us over. "Maybe take a few naps."

I browquirked at that, but wasn’t about to argue. We could use the break. "As you insist."

"What about my question..can we trade for him?" Blossom pressed.

"I already said 'no'. You /can't/ trade souls." the shade said.

"Why can't we enter the doors?" Blossom asked.

"Let it go for now, Blossom. We need to brainstorm for a bit." I told her, trying to get her calmed down.

"Fine.." Blossom said impatiently "Nevermind then..."

The shade turned and left, and I started to set up camp. We needed a better idea and it wasn’t going to come to us without some food and rest. Dawn gave me an encouraging smile, and I returned it. It was in our grasp now. We were so close...we just had to figure out this last puzzle.

{{separator|k}}

After I finished setting up the camp, I started a fire and got busy with the cooking. The packs were getting a lot lighter now that we were carrying less wood and supplies and everything. I started cooking the food on it. Alex was taking a bit of a nap, Timmy was sitting in a corner, and Blossom looked like she was meditating.

After a while I finished, and brought food over to everyone on dishes. I extinguished the fire for now to conserve the fuel. We weren’t cold for the time being so we didn’t need it. Alex took his food eagerly, as did everyone else. I had to persuade Blossom a bit; she didn’t seem interested in eating, but it’d been 6 hours since we ate anything; it was time.

"Thanks, Nate." Alex said in between careful bites of his food.

"No problem, Alex," I responded, sitting down with my own plate. "While we're all here, we should brainstorm a bit."

"Hmm... yes,” Alex agreed. “So we can't go in ourselves, right?" I nodded.

"What if one of us were a spirit?" Blossom asked. "Could we then?"

I looked over at Blossom with an eyequirk. "If you're going to suggest killing someone, I veto that right now. That’s not a productive line of thought.” Alex shook his head in agreement.

Blossom shrugged a bit. "I was just thinking of what Dawn said, that the laws of death down here are different."

"For creatures that LIVE down here." I and Dawn reminded in synch. I paused for a second in shock at that, but it got the point across.

"Oh, well it was just a thought..." Blossom said with a sigh.

"Sorry, but it's not a good idea." I shook my head.

"I dunno... Maybe if Tim would volunteer...” Dawn said facetiously. Tim shot her a dirty look but didn’t say anything.

Alex hrmed. "If anyone has to die it'll be me, okay?"

"That's a bad idea too," Blossom said. "No one is dying." She paused for a moment. "If anyone was to die, it /will/ be me.." Oh god, now they were competing to die.

Alex saw that this wasn’t productive. "Any other suggestions?" he asked.

I glanced to Dawn. She shrugged, so I presented the only idea that’d come to me so far. "Well, I would think that if we can find a commitment for Nick, one which precludes death, that might count as a loophole."

"What do you mean?" Blossom asked.

"A promise, agreement, deal.” I suggested. “Something that's more important than being dead, or transcends death." I paused for a moment. I hadn’t known him that well. "He promise anything to any of you?"

"He promised he wouldn't leave me alone," Blossom said.

I stroked my chin. "That might work. Dunno. We should try and get a number of ideas, and cycle through them as we work."

Alex wingshrugged a bit.

"Guys... This is death we're dealing with here." Dawn said. "Casual promises... I can't see that doing anything at all."

"Okay, hmm ..." Alex said.

"So how do we get him back? They want him to leave, but can't give him to us." Blossom repeated, trying to reason it out. "We can't take him because we can't get inside, we can't talk to him either." She stood and walked up to the door, placing a hand on it gently.

"There's no way we can just casually stroll in?" Alex asked.

"Not to my knowledge." I said, turning to watch Blossom. The rest did likewise as she pushed against the door to see if there was any give or anything. There wasn’t; she returned to her seat a few moments later.

"So we need a serious promise or agreement." I resumed the conversation.

"That he's not of this world?” Alex said. “Not really an agreement but..."

"That might work, yeah." I nodded.

Alex sighed. "What other options do we have."

"I don't think there are a lot of agreements that transcend death.” Dawn said. “Not certain exactly what we have to work with here..."

"Neither am I, really.” I admitted. “I don't think anyone knows aside from people beyond that door."

"And they're not talking." Alex finished.

"Exactly." I agreed.

Dawn nodded, then looked thoughtful. "Analogy, then... Our friend is in jail, stuck in the courthouses..."

"Bail..." I said. "But they denied that."

"Prisonbreak won't work because we won't get away with it." Alex said.

"I don't understand..." Blossom said, quirking a brow.

"Then maybe that 'error' thing might... Hm." Dawn said.

"Hmmm. Improper arrest? He died for no reason." I suggested. "In fact, he's not even dead yet."

"Isn ... yeah." Alex said.

"His spirit got dragged down here because half of him got killed." I nodded, feeling this might be a better answer.

"But I thought one part can’t live without the other one?" Blossom inquired.

"Biologically they should..." Alex mused. "A pity this place doesn't have visiting hours..."

I snorted. "That'd be too easy."

"I like too easy." Alex said. I could at least empathize with the feeling.

Blossom shook her head, then looked at us. "How can we cause an error?"

"Ctrl-Alt-Delete." Dawn joked. I smirked at that, though Blossom didn’t get it.

"I think the fact that he was dragged down here simply because his other body was killed, is a good choice," I said more seriously. "To use the courtroom analogy, lack of a warrant or reasonable cause for arrest."

"We can try," Blossom said with a nod, then looked at me. "What is a courtroom?"

"A building where your guilt and innocence regarding crimes you're accused of is decided," I said.

"A system for deciding how to punish criminals," Alex interjected.

"And that, too," I agreed.

"Well, once you're in the courtroom you're basically half guilty, they don't put you in there for no reason," Alex said ominously.

"Innocent until proven guilty,” I countered.

"Yeah ... I guess so..." Alex said, half-heartedly.

"What's a crime?" Blossom asked innocently, looking a bit dumbfounded.

"A crime is when you break a law," I explained. "Such as driving a car while intoxicated with alcohol, breaking into someone's house, or killing someone."

"So a crime is doing something wrong then?" Blossom asked.

"Generally, yes," I said.

"Could have just said that..." Blossom pouted slightly.

"Might have something with that 'mistake' thing.” Dawn said.

"So do we try now?" Blossom said eagerly.

I looked to Dawn.

"We'll give it a shot?" Alex said.

"Alright, I guess," Blossom said.

"So do we try it?" I said, to confirm. Alex nodded at me.

"Seems okay," Blossom said. "What do we have to lose?"

"We don't want to annoy them, really," I said.

"Blossom, let the others handle the talking, please." Alex quietly asked. I probably wasn’t supposed to hear that. She nodded solemnly in response.

"What are you trying to do, exactly?” Dawn said.

"I intend to ask for the soul back. Because Nick was never injured or killed; his body lives. He ended up here only because of an incomplete separation of his soul.” I said. “Because his body still lives, he still belongs on earth and not in the underworld."

Dawn shook her head. "There has to be something more solid than this..." She paused. "Or... Maybe there isn't."

"I'm out of ideas for now, sorry." Alex said.

"I don't have anything better at this point.” I admitted. “Worst that can happen is they send us back out here..."

Blossom nodded. "The only promise he made to me is to never leave me..." she said.

I nodded to Blossom at that, then headed for the door. Everyone stood up and came behind me as I knocked on the door, then stepped back and waited, masking my nervousness.

{{separator|k}}

A few minutes after I knocked, the wraith or shade or ghost or whatever exited the doors again, and looked at us. His expression was inscrutable.

"Hello again. I believe we've reached a solution," I told him.

"Ah, good," the shade said.

"Nick was never injured or killed by any means,” I said, with a deep breath. “Nkosi was, and due to the incomplete separation of his soul, Nick was dragged down here; his body lives on. As his body is not dead, he belongs on earth and not in the Underworld." I paused as I finished, waiting for a response.

"That's half the problem, kid. Literally,” the shade said. “But you can't send him up, and you can't send him down, because either way, you're doing half wrong. Do you realize that there is no longer any such person as Nick?"

I shook my head. "I had not, no. Nick-Nkosi, it is?"

"Pretty much,” the shade said with a nod. "Like a fucked up sort of neopolitan soul-cream."

I winced at that revelation. "Alright."

"This is the last time I answer the door for you folks. It's time for you to take back the soul you dropped off and go home," the shade said, ominously.

"We're trying. I know that doesn't sound the best, but we're doing the best we can," I said, trying to buy some time. I looked back to the others. Alex had a grimace. Dawn wingshrugged.

Out of the corner of my eye, Blossom got up and walked past me, right into the front by the spirit. "Alright. We will collect our soul, and head back now if you will allow us." she said. I pulled back a bit, expecting this to blow up.

"That's the spirit... No pun intended,” the shade said. Give me a moment...” He paused, for what seemed like an eternity, before nodding once. “Yes, you're clear to pull out the damaged soul you delivered to give it more time to recover before judgement."

I looked at Blossom curiously, not really sure what had transpired. That said, if it worked, it worked. “Alright.” I said, feeling like a third wheel.

"Alright, shall I go with you to get our soul?" Blossom asked.

"No. Living beings cannot pass through these doors,” the shade said. He continued, “Tartarus, I don't even know if they actually open... It's really much simpler. Lay your hands or head or whatever on the door, and will the aura of the spirit back to you. Make sure you get the right one. No sense in accidentally pulling up some stranger."

Alex jerked at the last word, but Blossom nodded. "Alright." She walked up to the door and walked towards the door, placing her hands on it, a look of concentration on her face.

"Shame about your Nick though. You'll just have to accept the situation and go home." the shade said.

"After we collect the soul we dropped off we will," Blossom agreed.

At first, nothing seems to be happening. Blossom was just standing at the door, hands pressed against it, then suddenly her brow wrinkled in concentration. I couldn’t see what was happening, but it was demanding of Blossom, I could see that. After a few moments, her tail twisted around in frustration, swaying back and forth.

"Give him to me..." Blossom growled at the door.

The shade turned to me. "Well, you look like you're underway. I'm going to go back inside."

I nodded, putting on my best confident facade. "Thank you, sir."

"Y-yes, thanks." Alex said distractedly, as the shade turned and disappeared back through the door.

Blossom kept her hands on the door, focusing. “Selene help me,” she breathed softly, though given the quietness of the area, we all heard it.

After a moment, Dawn broke the silence. "What exactly are you doing?”

"I’m trying to draw Nick to me through the door," Blossom responded, not looking back.

"Not working?" Dawn said.

Blossom shook her head. "There is something resisting me."

"Nkosi." I said, realizing in a flash of inspiration what the problem was. "You have to want Nick/Nkosi, not just Nick."

Blossom paused, then nodded. She looked back to me with a nod, then turned to the door and started her efforts again. Nothing seemed to be happening at first, the doors were there, as imposing as ever. We just sat there in silence, watching. Blossom focused even harder, her brow furrowing and tail twitching as she focused...and then suddenly, a soul orb like we’d escorted down here phased out of the door, moving over to hover by Blossom. I focused on it, and I felt the unpleasant ‘taste’ of a mark to Bast with my marksense.

I stared, my mouth agape. We’d done it. We’d actually gotten the soul back. Now we just needed to get it topside to his body...easier said than done, but everything seemed so much more within our grasp at this point.

Blossom took her hand off the door, looking at the soul. "Nick?" she said, tentatively. No reaction came forth immediately. Blossom reached out trying to touch the sphere, but her hand simply passed through it. Alex eyed the soul at that, but he didn’t say anything.

"We need to get it back to the body," I said, although I was pretty sure everyone knew that already.

Blossom sighed and nodded. “I believe it is him,” she said. “I feel the mark.”

"That's about as good as we'll get," I said. Nothing in school had taught me how to deal with stuff like this, so it was all being played by ear.

Alex nodded. "Lets get out of this crazy place."

I started packing up what little camp we’d made. "We need to be careful,” I reminded. The soul-eating monsters were foremost on my mind. Alex paced a bit as we went, the blood stuck on his wings marring the shine, as Blossom, Dawn, and Timmy helped me finish the packing. Dawn’s actually pretty helpful with that, as long as it’s the lower dexterity jobs.

After we got finished, I hoisted my pack. “Everyone ready to go?” I asked.

"As I will ever be," Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "Yes, I am ready." The soul seemed to be staying close to her, like...always in arm’s reach as she moved. Like it was attached on an invisible leash. Hell, it might have been. I didn’t know.

I glanced to Timmy and Dawn, who both nodded they were ready. “Ok then, let’s go.” I said, and started leading us out again.

Timmy lagged behind a bit; his wounds were starting to catch up with him. That said, we were ALL hurt by this point. And all of us wanted to see the sun...we’d been underground for at least 3 days by now. It was hard to tell time. We were just trying to get out now...the hard part was done. I led us back up through the caves in accordance with my notes. The soul followed Blossom, and she followed with us, keeping an eye out for anything that might be dangerous.

We had to fight a few more times before we got back to the river. We had to strike camp one more time before we did, and then again the next evening after riding back with Pluto. It was maybe half a day after that that we finally saw the exit to the castle we’d entered, the cave walls turning back into stone masonry as we went...only for us to see another cerberus looking back at us as it spotted out light sources as we approached.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Descending_Into_Darkness|Descending Into Darkness]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Out_of_the_Darkness|Out of the Darkness]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Descending Into Darkness

2013-09-13T11:57:10Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Descending Into Darkness}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

I stared for a moment at the thing, thinking I must’ve hit my head. I took a step closer, then thought better of it. It was down, we should just move on. I looked to Alex and nodded slightly in thanks.

He grinned back to me. “Good job.”

“Th-thanks”, I told him, the uncertainty clear in my voice. I reloaded my crossbow, looking around gauge injuries, as I headed over in the direction of the other three. Alex stepped out of my way, wobbling slightly.

Blossom stood up shakily by the waters as I approached. “You okay, Dawn?” she asked.

"I'm fine... Might've pulled something... I'm fine." Dawn said, struggling back to her feet. I was glad to see that...didn’t want Dawn to be hurt. That said, Blossom seemed to be checking her for injuries...so I went over to Timmy to check on him. We should start moving before the poison wore off.

Blossom shook a bit as I moved for Tim, trying to dry off. The tentacle-thing receded back into the water, apparently having no interest in pursuit. Blossom and Dawn started over towards the rest of us as I reached Tim, who, for his part, was getting stiffly to his feet.

“You ok, Tim?” I asked as I reached him.

Tim nodded. "I got two solid hits in... You want the coup de grace, or shall I?"

"We weren't planning on killing it, remember?" I felt like an idiot saying that, but I said it anyways.

"What, you want to fight it again on the way out?" he asked me.

"They'll replace him if we kill this one..." I pointed out.

"But he won't be too happy to see us." Alex said as he hopped over to us, eyeing the beast warily.

"The creatures of the underworld have funny rules about death anyways." Dawn said.

I looked at Dawn. "Hmm?"

"I do not want to kill it.." Blossom said through chattering teeth

I looked to Blossom. "I don't know we have a reasonably alternative option." Play the reasonable center.

"I'm serious.” Dawn said. “Nothing down here is afraid to die, because the life-death relationship for bottomsiders is rather different here."

I glanced at Tim and evaluated in light of that statement. Tim just smiled, making it no easier for me to decide. After a moment, I spoke. "No killing. We'll have to fight another one on the way out for one, and two, if we spare him, we might get a free pass."

Blossom nodded to me in agreement. “Yes.”

"Pfffffft!" Tim said.

I looked at him evenly. "Slim chance versus no chance."

Tim turned away to head for the entrance, then suddenly winced and doubled over. “Oh, SHIT...”

My attention jolted back to him. I looked at him concernedly. "What's wrong?"

"Dude?" Alex said.

"Nothin, man, nothin...” Tim lied. “Look at that fucker bleed, though. Probably end up dyin' anyways."

"Look, Tim, if you're hurt, don't hide it." I sighed. "We need you. If you're badly injured, we can't continue."

"Fuck, guys, I just got stepped on. It's nothing." Tim scoffed.

"By that thing? That's not nothing." Alex pointed out.

"Look. Bury your pride.” I stressed. “If you are hurt, tell me NOW, or we might all die because you won't admit you're too injured to continue."

"Just ribs. I've had worse." he admitted.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Tim nodded confidently...which was less than reassuring.

"I would help but i lost my salves in the river..." Blossom admitted.

"Are we continuing, or not?" I asked. More to the others. I already knew Timmy’s answer.

Alex nodded. "Lets get this over with."

"Yes, we have come too far to turn back." Blossom agreed.

"Ok, then the door's open." I said, motioning to the now-undefended gateway.

Tim headed over for the downed doggy.

I looked at him as I started to change the magazine on my crossbow. "No killing, I said."

"Yeah, and those of us who've been down here before know it ain't really killing." Tim said.

Dawn kept her mouth shut for the moment. I looked away from Tim, not wanting to fight him anymore.

"We're leaving now." I started for the opened path.

"Hon, don't forget the packs." Dawn reminded me. Duh, idiot. I nodded to her and went to grab my pack. Blossom did the same with me.

"Take the kids into the entrance there.” Tim said. “I'll catch up in like 30 seconds."

Blossom looked at Tim. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to uh... Tie it up." Tim said, rather unconvincingly.

"Make sure to get your stuff, Tim. We need the food." I reminded him, then started for the entrance, trying to get Blossom and Alex to follow me.

Blossom walked over to Tim. Dammit. "I will help then..." she said, sarcastically. I stopped to watch this play out.

"You do that." Tim said, as he stopped and looked over the downed "pooch", not putting his blade away. Dawn came to my side and stood there, watching as well.

Blossom stared at him. "Put away the sword..." she said, glaring at Tim. "We are not killing it."

You're right. 'We' are not.” Tim shot back. “Follow Nathan."

"Not until you do." Blossom said to him.

Alex sighed at my side.

"Fine. You can watch.” Tim said. “Do you know what this thing is?"

"I do, probably more than you." Blossom said. Oh lord, there was her ego again.

"Yeah, you know that it's three bent souls, then, living in slavery?” Tim said. “You're just fine with three decent beings that are going to be forced to watch themselves kill you as we come up?"

"Perhaps if we show him mercy he will let us go." Blossom bluffed, half-convincingly.

"Tell ya what... I'll walk away from this thing right now...” Tim said.” But, if it attacks you on the way up, I'm not going to risk my hide because you couldn't stomach a monster being put out of its misery."

"I cannot let you kill him it would be against Selene to do so." Blossom said.

Tim rolled his eyes visibly, and headed back for his pack. "Pfft, no it isn't."

"So, what now?" Alex asked me.

"We keep going until we get to the bottom. It's my first time down here." I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was doing.

"Lets hope we don't get our asses kicked next time..." Alex said.

"Agreed." I said solemnly, finishing the magazine-change on my crossbow.

"What I would give for some aspirin right now." Alex said, then started towards the gate with Dawn. I waited for Tim and Blossom.

"It is wrong to kill something that does not deserve to die, he was doing his job that is all." Blossom said to Tim as they approached.

"It's a mind-controlled slave, kid." Tim said, painfully hoisting his pack back onto his back.

"Then the one that does the controlling deserves it." Blossom said, as she got back to me. I turned and went with them.

"Yeah? And you gonna do that? Or is that guy just doing his job too?" Tim said incredulously. He was making a few good points.

"If I see him, then you can have permission to kill him." Blossom said, with another touch of sarcasm.

I jumped in here. "Look, just stop the fighting, ok? We can't afford to break here." Needed us all together on the same page.

Tim took the hint. He shrugged with a wince. "Whatever."

And so, we headed through the gate and into the maws of the underworld.

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As we entered the castle through the empty gate, the corridor started to slope steeply downward, along with the river itself. We resumed the prior marching order, with Alex and Dawn taking up the rear now that they were ground-bound. I didn’t envy either of them having bird legs on a trek like this, but I was carrying too much gear to have a chance of carrying Dawn, and carrying Alex...wasn’t a good idea. Stormwing really is a pretty shitty forcemark, when you come right down to it. It was a bad thing for me to do, but I silently thanked my luck on not getting forcemarked on my first trip in realm.

The walls rapidly stopped being masonry castle-style walls, and became more cavelike. It was incredibly dark much of the time, but there was some sort of vaguely luminescent substance on the walls and ceiling in patches. I didn’t risk touching it, but I was silently thankful for it, because it meant that it didn’t feel like we were in a tomb with two flashlights for five people. I mean, ok, I still couldn’t see at all with just the light from the walls, but it was...comforting, at least. Alex and Blossom seemed to be seeing just fine from it though...I guess stormwings and foxes have good night vision. I kept my lightstick up, as did Tim as we kept moving.

If the top of the underworld was surreal with the design it had...this was even worse. It didn’t make any sense, any of it. The creatures we saw looked like things out of nightmares, the cave formations were completely insane, and the water flow was...bizarre. We followed the river around a few 90-degree turns as we went down further, and at least twice, the river started going uphill, requiring us to climb up after it. It was like all science and logic wanted nothing to do with this place...which, admittedly, made sense.

Alex grumbled a bit at the uphill walking, hopping along awkwardly. After a while, he said, "You know, Hades might just be Escher in disguise?"

"Why do you think that?" Blossom asked.

"MC Escher?” I said. “The comparison had crossed my mind, I admit."

"This design is right up his alley." Alex said.

I smiled a bit. "It is, isn't it?"

After that brief bit of brevity, we fell silent again, just pushing on. We weren’t killing ourselves on pace, but we were at a moderate hurry. It wasn’t really a sense of urgency propelling us...more a vague feeling of discomfort. Things here felt wrong, like my mind wasn’t supposed to comprehend or think about them too deeply, and it just felt...foreboding. I wanted to finish up what we came here to do and get back out. Everyone felt it, I think, and the pervasive gloom permeated the group and made us just focus our energies on moving forward.

The caverns got quite large, and numerous offshoots started to become more common as we kept going. I’d long since lost track of how ‘deep’ we’d gone. I took notes on our path as we went, writing them down so that we knew how to get back. Hopefully. Dawn reminded me that the geography of the Underworld wasn’t constant, and that we should keep going ‘up’ as a general rule when we came back. Still, I took notes. We wouldn’t be down here too long, I hoped.

We encountered a number of goblin-like things and nonsense little underworld monsters at this point. I didn’t even recognize any of them. This was hardcore stuff, far beyond anything my training on creatures of the realms had covered. A few of them got curious, but between the weapons and Alex, we were able to convince them they had other business fairly easily.

After a while, Blossom turned to me and asked, “Think they speak our language?”

She thought we could get a guide. Great. "We just keep following the river, Blossom. Until it meets the other four."

"Everything speaks the same language down here." Dawn said. “And we don’t speak it.”

"Alright,” Blossom said with resignation. “Couldn't hurt to have a guide, or ask directions."

"Indeed..." Alex said softly.

"We know where we're going. Don't fraternize more than you have to." Dawn warned. I agreed with her. So did Tim, with a grunt.

For that matter, Tim was moving more slowly than before, that was for sure. After a while, when we took a break at a small alcove, I looked him over. After a quick check, I spoke with him.

"Are you sure you don't need care?"

"There's nothing you can do about it." Tim said.

"Hmm? Howso?" Alex asked.

"It's ribs, Sparkles,” Tim responded to Alex. “You can't do anything about ‘em."

Unfortunately, since it was his rib, it was true. I nodded to him. "Ok. Just...if you have issues, tell me." I gave him a few more painkillers from the medkit to take the edge off, but that was about all I could do, and there was no temple to Asclepius nearby. I made a mental note to rebalance the packs tonight. A bit more for Blossom, a lot more for me, and less for Tim, to avoid aggravating his injury.

We started back up again. We went another ways, probably another mile and cavern down, and suddenly the river opened up into a delta, which emptied into a absolutely massive underground lake. Not that I’d seen an underground lake before, but this still impressed me by its size. It was very misty here, and I couldn’t see across the lake. The riverbank and delta spread out into a broad, rocky beach (there was no sand), but there was no obvious way across the lake.

"Aw shit." Alex said, after we spent a few minutes looking for something and just coming up with water.

"Damn..." I agreed.

"Well, this is bad." Blossom opined.

"Did anyone remember to pack a boat?" Alex asked rhetorically. He knew as well as I did that we had nothing.

I looked along the lakeshore to see if there was a boat, but nothing was visible. There was a chance there might be something in the mist, but I sure as hell wasn’t going swimming after the earlier incident, and I don’t think anyone else wanted to either. I glanced to Tim and Dawn. Tim shrugged a bit at me but said nothing.

"Don't look at me,” Dawn said. “I ain't flying here."

“Gotcha,” I nodded. I was silently relieved.

I kept looking for a bit, Alex helping me. Tim and Blossom and Dawn were taking a break for the moment. The reflection off his feathers was mildly irritating, but I didn’t say anything. And then I saw it. At first I thought it was just points of light bouncing back from the mist, but they just kinda sat there. I squinted a bit. Yeah, there was something out there. A few floating points of light, gathered a bit of a way down the beach where we hadn’t gone to yet.

Alex looked in that direction, focusing. He saw them too. "Hmm..."

"Think we should check it out?" I asked him.

"Do we have anything better to do?" Alex responded.

"Point taken." I said. I roused the group and then started leading the way towards the lights.

Once we got closer, we realized they weren’t torches. They were just...points of light. Like someone had lit a bright candle, except there was no candle. The lights hovered there, wobbling a bit, with nothing seeming to sustain them, just...light, emitted from nothing.

I paused, looking at them. "Will-O-Wisps, maybe?" I asked, resisting the urge to reach out and touch one.

Dawn shrugged a bit. "Don't look at me. This is way further down than I've ever been."

Alex looked around in a quick scan of the area, as did I. We both thought it might be a trap...but no danger was apparent. Which meant there either was no trap, or it was a really good one. Bad situation to be in. Blossom shivered a bit, but nothing happened.

After a minute I relaxed, looking back to the lights. “Huh...” I looked away, turning back to the lake, looking futilely for a path across. Dammit, we had to be getting closer. But there was no obvious way forward.

"Well, that was a dissapointment." Alex said, echoing everyone’s sentiment.

I tried to be slightly more productive. "We can't swim...we didn't bring a raft...and if we turn around, they'll expect us next time." We didn’t have many good options here.

"Isn't there supposed to be this Charon dude around somewhere?" Alex asked.

I nodded to him. "That'd be a theory, but I don't see him at this time."

"Maybe this is his lunch break." Alex joked.

"Or maybe he heard the fighting?" Blossom asked.

I shook my head. "Not from this far, I don't think. It’s gotta have been like 6 hours since that happened.”

Suddenly, a light, rhythmic splashing sound pierced our ears, coming from somewhere out in the mist. Like someone paddling a canoe, or rowing a boat. I looked out to see if I could see anything, but the mist shrouded it all. That said, the noise became steadily louder and closer...so we were going to find out what was making it pretty soon, whether we wanted to or not.

It took a minute, but soon a small boat did come into view. A middle-aged human was paddling patiently in the back, standing up. On the bow, there was a German Shepherd... a normal one, standing, looking out to the destination.

I was the party front, so I nodded and waved out to him. “Hello.” Blossom bowed politely in his direction.

The boat pulled up to the shore, partially on the rocky beach. The man waved hello to us without a word and stepped off the boat to stretch a little bit. The glowing lights moved down across the beach to hover immediately above the boat. The dog came over and sniffed at us all, being friendly before taking a quick break.

I looked to the man, quirking a brow. "You are Charon?"

"Nah. He retired centuries ago.” the man responded. “I'm Plustolius, most call me Pluto."

"My apologies." I said, but he waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. Your historians get all kinds of stuff a little mixed up." Pluto said.

Alex nodded, moving the conversation forward. "Well, good to see you."

Blossom nodded, then got down to business. "Could we get a ride with you across the lake?"

"One coin each for topsiders." Pluto said without missing a beat. Musta done this before.

"One question." I said, getting a bad feeling.

"Yes, son?" Pluto looked to me.

"We CAN come back the other way when we're done, right?" I asked to clarify.

"Ever known a ferry to operate one way?" Pluto said.

I flushed red a bit. "That would be another detail our historians messed up, then." I admitted. "Just making sure."

"Coin? What coin?" Blossom asked.

"Any coin." Pluto responded. "Don't ask me how that works, that's just the rule."

Alex turned and eyed me. "Well, you've got the bank."

Timmy took a coin out of his pocket. "Here ya go." Looked like a euro-penny. Cheapskate.

That said, Pluto took it anyways and let him on the boat. I dug out four coins, mostly single-euro to five euro-coins, for the other four of us. I offered them to Pluto and he accepted them, letting us all step onto the boat in turn.

"Will the boat hold everyone?" Blossom asked, as she boarded.

"Yes," Pluto nodded. He got back in and seated himself in the rear, taking up his paddle. He whistled twice, and the dog came running back and jumped onto the front of the boat, taking up the same position.

"Let's go then," Timmy said as I climbed in, the last to do so. Alex was near the center, hunkering down carefully with a firm grip on the bench. Dawn had perched on an edge, and Timmy was near the back. Blossom sat down in front with the dog, petting it gently, and the lights hovered near Alex.

Pluto pushed off with his paddle and started slowly paddling the boat. The boat was...remarkably stable, for what seemed to be a big square canoe. I looked around for a second oar or paddle to help, but none was obvious. I was grateful for the chance to rest, then. So was everyone else, I think. After a short while of silence, Pluto spoke, breaking up the rhythmic splashing.

"So what brings this group of topsiders down? I don't get many groups this way" he said

"Kid died too early," Timmy said kinda quietly.

"A friend needs our help." Blossom agreed.

That didn’t leave me much to say. I looked at Pluto and said, "What they said. He's stuck with the Fates." I hoped that made sense to the man.

"Ohhh, /him/. Right." Pluto nodded knowingly.

"You know about him? Anything you can tell us?" I browquirked, hoping we could gain some information here. I wasn’t alone, Blossom looked over as well.

Pluto shook his head. "Not really. Just that it's been a bit of a snarl."

"Howso?" I pressed.

"I don't know the background to it. I'm just the boatsman." Pluto said.

"Ah, ok." I said. So much for getting more information. "Thank you, I'm sorry to bother."

Pluto changed the subject. "We'll be there before too long... What're you going to do with these spirits? S’pose you might guide them in?"

"Which spirits?" I asked.

Pluto gestured to the floating lights hovering over the boat, near Alex. They seemed to be perfectly stable, mimicking every movement of the boat perfectly.

"We didn't know what those were, actually..." I said, a bit sheepishly. "We can guide them in, yes."

"Dangerous, mind you." Pluto said. Alex eyed the spirits a bit worriedly.

Tim grunted. "Thought so...gotta tell which one is him."

I ignored Tim. "Please elaborate?" I asked to Pluto.

"Many things down here eat spirits rather than solids, but will attack physical beings in their way."

I nodded at that. It made sense. That said... "We can get them to their goal. We're going to the same place anyways."

Alex shuddered a bit but said nothing

"We are just here for our friend." Blossom stated.

Tim sighed "So he could be eaten..."

"Oh, gods no.” Pluto said. “These are just strays, really. The natural deaths don't run the gauntlet like these ones do." He paused for a moment. "These are waywards and some that failed adventurers have tried to bring out and such.

I blanked my face at that. I didn’t want to think too much about the implications.

"How long will it take to cross?" Blossom asked.

"Cross the land leading up to the Judging?" Pluto asked by way of clarification.

Blossom nodded. "Yes, and the lake."

"'Bout a day and a minute," Pluto said.

Alex grinned at that. "Good."

I nodded as well with some confidence. "Ok."

"How can you tell two spirits apart?" Tim asked curiously.

"I know what Nick looks like." Blossom said certainly. I didn’t know it was that easy, but I didn’t want to dissuade her yet, so I said nothing.

"We'll figure something out, right?" Alex said. He seemed a bit less certain than Blossom. I nodded in response and we all fell quiet again.

After a little while longer, the boat moved in on a shoreline much like the one we’d just left. It pulled up alongside, close enough that we could step right to dry land without getting wet. The dog got out, as did the spirits.

I turned to Pluto. "Ok, thank you. How will we call you on the way back?" I asked, wanting to know before I committed.

Pluto shook his head. "You don't. I go back and forth to all five points all day. Just wait on the bank."

"Ah, ok. Gotcha." I said with a nod, then stepped off, along with the rest of my group. Alex seemed to be glad to have more room around him again. I didn’t blame him, given the blades and the apparent hydrophobia that stormwings are supposed to have.

"The wonders of public transport." Alex commented, bowing slightly to Pluto. He nodded and then, after recalling the dog, pushed off again, continuing his lonely patrol.

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After getting our bearings and looking around, we decided to rest here for the night, and then continue in the morning. The decayed spirits hovered around the camp, but they seemed to be following us as a group, so we didn’t have to do anything. After we were all rested, we carried on, heading out on a lightly travelled path that continued on, like it went right under the lake, the spirits following behind us. I had an idea about the escort job, maybe we could trade or ask for ‘payment’ for services rendered.

It was still too dark and cramped for any flying, and Alex was grumbling a bit at the pain it was causing him. I empathized, and kept him going. Over the course of the day, we had a few fights we had to go through. One or two soul-eater creatures...and a young hydra. We managed to beat the latter by shooting it with flaming crossbow bolts. That said, fighting in the total darkness of these caves sucks quite nastily. On the plus side, we didn’t lose any of our charges, so we were able to continue on, mostly without incident.

All of us were a bit more injured and sore at this point, and Alex had more blood on him. He was getting pissed off and venting it on the monsters, and I didn’t blame him. I distributed painkillers as I could, trying to keep a reserve. We were getting lucky we weren’t encountering much, or so Dawn said, but I didn’t mind.

As we continued, the cave split multiple times, the path unclear. But in this case, the spirits seemed to know the way and started down one path, waiting for us. We didn’t have any better ideas, so I took notes and we followed them further down. Above all, we just kept going...after another day, we finally rejoined the river, and we found a road next to it. Not a path or such, but an actual, well travelled road.

We made much better time along the road, and it led past a few villages that looked straight out of an acid-fuelled nightmare. We gave them a wide berth, wanting nothing to do with the villages or whatever inhabitants might live in such a twisted place. I kept a close eye on our food supplies. We had about another day before we had to turn back or risk running out of food.

But the concern was unnecessary. At last, the river and the road passed through a pair of massive stone pillars, which formed an impromptu gate into a finished, marble hall and antechamber that led up to a massive, ornate, closed stone door. As we approached the door, which was at LEAST 20 feet tall, the spirits just phased right through it. Seeing that, I suddenly wondered if this was where we were meant to go for the end of our trip.

Alex eyed me uncertainly, wondering what to do. I looked to Dawn, and she shrugged. Blossom was behind me, and Timmy was taking a quick break leaning against a wall. Looked like this was up to me. I gathered my breath, walked up to the door, and knocked on it, three times. Then I took a step back and waited to see what happened.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Cerberus|Cerberus]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/In_the_Hall_of_the_Dead|In the Hall of the Dead]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Cerberus

2013-09-13T11:55:53Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerberus}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was a rough descent, but with some solid teamwork between me, Timmy, and Blossom, we got down. Not without a few scratches and such, but we made it in one piece. All of the injuries were minor. After patching everyone up, taking a short rest, and getting our packs again, we started our approach to the castle itself.

The bowl was surprisingly barren as we walked through it. I got the idea that it was a blast crater, but the bowl was just...empty. No animals, no burrows, no plants. It was like the idea of life itself hated this place. Even the twisted plants and animals of the underworld refused to live here. We followed the riverbank towards the castle. As we approached it, we saw that only one bank was allowed into the castle, the rest of the entrance eaten up by by the river. And on the bank we could traverse, there was a single cerberus.

It wasn’t what I’d expected. It had a rather wide, squat body, kinda like a pit bull. But it was rather less canine than I’d expected. The three heads were there, but it had a mishmash of fur, spines and scales. It looked like it was napping. Good. Maybe we could sneak past it, because it was about the size of a rhino, based on what I could see as we approached.

"What the hell is that?" Alex said as he spotted it.

"A cerberus." I said. The rumor about being eaten by one came back to my mind. Hopefully I wouldn’t find out firsthand.

"Doggie nappin' is probably a good thing." Timmy said.

"Lets go around it..." Alex suggested.

"Probably the best choice, yeah." I agreed.

"It is best to let sleeping dogs lie..." Blossom added.

I nodded, as we started that way. Getting a look into the corridor past the cerberus, it became obvious that Dawn and Alex would be grounded from here on out. One of the cerberus’s heads lifted slowly and started to regard us as we approached. Fuck, it hadn’t been asleep at all. It sighed, then hauled itself to its feet, speaking in Greek to rouse the other two heads that were sleeping.

"Aw fuck." Alex hissed. It seemed to be a sentiment shared by all of us as we approached. I gripped my crossbow a bit tighter as we closed in, but kept it down.

"Who's a good doggie, yes you are, yeees you are." Timmy said, seemingly seriously.

"I doubts that patronizing it will help." Alex told him.

"I do not think this is an ordinary dog." Blossom said with a shake of her head.

"Ah... Yeah... What's Plan A, fellas?" Dawn asked.

"I'd vote running like hell.” Alex responded to Dawn.

"Plan A is hope it doesn't mind us. B is fight, we need to go through." I said.

"Ah, yes ..." Alex said unenthusiastically.

Dawn took up the rear of our group as we approached. I was in front with Alex and Timmy and Blossom were behind me. The cerberus just waited for us, eyeing us with all of it’s heads.

As we approached, Alex tentatively waved a wing. "Euh, hello. Good ... evening."

Blossom approached closer, passing between me and Alex. When she was a few feet away from him, she bowed. "Greetings." she said to him.

The three heads ducked once in a slight response to the bow, and then came back up. The center looked at Blossom, then at the rest of us. “"Yeah, you know how this works. Blah blah blah, guardian of underdark. What do you want?" Well, he at least was direct...

"To pick up a f-" Alex said, before he was cut off by Blossom.

"I want to see Hades." Blossom said. Oh gods, was she going to try and be the diplomat again? I winced.

"Yyyyyyeah... Go home." the center head said to us.

Blossom shook her head. "We can't, we know of your problem, and have come to help." she stated.

I eyed her. So did Alex. She seemed to have some sort of plan, which I could...at least give her more credit for. I didn’t want a fight, so I let her talk for the moment. Still, I wish she’d keep her damn mouth shut, she’s not that gifted a speaker.

"I don't have a problem. Seriously, go home." The left head said.

"Can't do that, look lets be specific." Timmy said. Oh gods. "There's a dude we wanna get back to the surface, kinda important fellow."

"Not you, specifically Hades does, with one soul that can't be decided." Blossom said, nodding.

"Blossom, please." Alex hissed. At someone agreed with me.

"That isn't my problem or yours." the left and right head said in unison.

"It's not a problem, so whatever we want the kid anyway." Timmy said.

Blossom glared back at Alex, but said nothing. She turned back to the cerberus and said, "Yes, we want to take him away from here."

"Look... I'm not trying to be a dink, I'm trying to save you from your own best intentions. You go in here, you get your ass handed to you. I'm here for /your/ protection." The Cerberus said. I was at least grateful for his patience.

"We appreciate that, but I’m not leaving without my friend." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks for the thought but we're pretty determined.” Timmy said. “Kid has a life to live, friends back home...yadda yadda."

"He's not quite dead you see." Alex chimed in.

"Ain't my job to decide who dies. It /is/ my job to keep brass-balled questing parties topside." the right head commented with an eyeroll.

"We're here to correct an error, not take some soul or decide who is dead." Alex said.

"Just go away, alright? Nobody has ever raised the dead. Ever. You're wasting your time." the left head commented.

"He ain't dead dead, body is still comatose." Timmy added.

Great. So I had three people talking to the monster, and none of them were me. I looked at Dawn helplessly. She shrugged back at me, but there was no good way for me to get into the conversation this late.

"That's great... Seriously, go away." the three heads said in unison.

"Ain't going away." Timmy said.

"What if we told you we know where he goes?" Blossom said inquisitively.

"Holy shit, this is why I hate this job." the center head exclaimed.

"Yer tellin' me right, get paid to do this. It'd make it easier if you let us do our job too." Timmy said.

"Yeah? And how are you going to make it worth my while?" the left head said incredulously.

"What would you want?" Blossom asked, sincerely.

"What've you got?" the thing asked

There was an in for me. "Food, money." I said.

"Don't need money, have plenty of food. Fuck off." It growled at me.

"Name something you want then." Blossom said, tail swishing impatiently.

"I want you to go back /home/." the monster snarled.

"We will do that, but with Nick as well." Blossom stated.

"Yeah. Great. Go." the thing said with a sigh.

"We need to pass you to get Nick." I said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Holy shit you people are dense." the right head said, a paw reaching up to effectively facepalm. Great. So there was no way through.

"Not without our condition bein' met...trust us we want nothin' more then to go home too." Timmy said,

Blossom walked up, right to the front of the cerberus, glaring up at it. One of the heads glared back, another watching the group, and the third still facepalmed. I was worried. If it decided to attack her, there was nothing I could do with her that close.

"Just go. I know you love your guy, but you won't get him back. Just /go/." the cerberus said forcefully.

"I love him too much to leave him here." Blossom retorted.

"So did the last folks, and the group before, and the group before...You /really/ want to fuck with the core forces of life and death, eh?"

"I am different, I would die for him gladly even trade myself for him." Blossom growled back. "Yes!"

"This castle-thing needs a fucking door. A great big locking fucking door." the right head, said, the paw finally coming back down. A part of me couldn’t help but agree, despite how much of a problem it would’ve been for us.

"Then you would have no job." Blossom stated, like that made any difference.

"See this? This is what I get for trying to be decent. I could do the snarling and attacking and everything, and instead I /try/ to send you back, and this is what happens." the center head said.

"I really do appreciate you talking with us, I really do, who wouldn't love the chance to talk with someone as interesting as you." Blossom said patronizingly. Now she was trying to butter him up...way too late for that.

"Look, I'll take it up with my supervisor, just go somewhere else for awhile." the left head said, entirely unconvincingly.

"I imagine that will take a long time..." Blossom commented. Good. She was learning. On the plus side, the thing hadn’t tried to murder us yet.

"It might. So go." the center head said.

"Can I go with you?" Blossom asked.

"No." the heads said in unison again.

"Why not? I am sure it would be safe if I was with someone as strong as you." she said, trying to butter him further.

The cerberus didn’t fall for it. "No."

Blossom shrugged and turned around, walking away "Well, if you couldn't do it..." Man, she was getting better. That said, the cerberus sat back down, clearly not interested.

I motioned to the others, and we turned around and left to regroup and try and come up with a better plan.

We regrouped a ways from the castle to talk. I looked to Dawn as had
become my instinct lately, wondering if she had anything. She wingshrugged
at me.

"Well, that went well." Alex commented.

Blossom shook her head. "That was annoying."

"Well, we wait, I guess..." I said, glancing away. I doubted he’d go ask,
but I wasn’t itching to pick a fight with a cerberus.

"I don't think he is going to ask..." Blossom surmised. Maybe she’d been
faking her naivety before.

"You really wanna fight him?" I asked her, seriously.

"No, i was trying to talk with him but /someone/ wouldn't let me..." she
eyed Timmy. Timmy just shrugged a bit.

"Well, it's a very bored guard thing to do ... and it got us away from
him..." Alex said. So they were on the same train of thought that I was.

"So what do you want to do about it?" Dawn asked.

"Well, we can wait, or we can fight. Neither is an option I'm particularly
eager to take." I said, putting out the options.

"So we find a "back door'?" Alex asked.

"We did a loop, Alex, there's none that I can see. That thing is built like
a frigging sub pen." Dawn pointed out.

"I could always try talking with him again; see if i can get him to agree?”
Blossom said hopefully.

"Yep, that's true Dawn.” Alex said. Then he turned to the fox. “Blossom,
your talking skills leave much to be desired." Finally someone had said it.

"What’s that mean?" Blossom asked, naively.

"You're not one of the most gifted of talkers." Alex stated.

"Well, I don't see you making any suggestions." Blossom said, crossing her
arms.

“I-” Alex said, but I cut him off. We couldn’t afford any fighting.

"Whoa, no fighting.” I said. “That's gonna cause problems."

Alex ruffled a bit, but nodded. "Yeah..."

"We can either force our way past, or wait, or try something else." I
reiterated. If the group fractured, we were all fucked, and worse, I
wasn’t doing my job. I glanced to the river curiously, but figured there
probably wasn’t anything good to come from swimming in it. It was flowing
far too fast for much in the way of swimming anyways, and we had dozens of
pounds of gear.

"What if we got Cerberus' heads to fight each other?" Blossom asked.

I looked over at her, quirking my brow. "Interesting idea."

"Do you think it will work?" Blossom asked.

Alex chuckled. "It's so deranged it just might." He said with a smile.

I mulled it over before saying, "Do we have anything to lose? We should
plan it out, first. We don't have anything he wants..."

"Well we know we don’t have anything that head wants." Blossom said. She
didn’t get it, again.

"A little long-range firepower would do it." Dawn said.

I looked at Dawn. "Got a question on that angle, actually...The water has
certain magical effects down here, right? Wonder if there's any chance you
know the effects of this river's water?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not to my knowledge, it doesn't."

"There goes that, I guess." I said. "Long range firepower is in short
supply, though." I and Blossom were the only two with crossbows.

Blossom muttered something, then looked over to the cerberus. She stood up
and started walking over towards him again. "Hmm. Maybe he wants to play
a game?"

I looked over at her as she moved, followed her, for her safety.

"I don't like where this is going..." Dawn said, echoing my mental
state...but she came along anyways. Alex scrambled up and followed along
with us as well.

The left head eyed Blossom as she approached and spoke to the other two. "Look sharp."

Blossom got right up in the thing’s face again, looking at it. "Hello, did
you happen to ask yet?"

"Yes, I managed to summon my boss and have a long retarded conversation
with him in the 30 seconds you were gone." the left head droned
sarcastically.

"Well thats good, so is he willing to see us then?" Blossom said, clearly
missing the sarcasm. I looked at the beast edgily.

The left head sighed audibly. The right head looked down at Blossom. "Okay, here's how it works. 10 seconds to get out of our faces, or I hold
you in the river there until the bubbles stop."

“I don't think that would work..." Blossom said.

I moved forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Blossom, come on. Now."

Blossom looked back at me, but started a step back. "Why?"

"Because we're not getting anywhere. Come on." I said, trying to pull her
away.

Blossom shrugged and walked back with me. "Why? He wants to go blow
bubbles in the river. What’s the harm in that?"

"Um...no. That's not what he suggested. Come on." I led her away.

"He said he wanted to hold me in the river until the bubbles stopped, but i
don’t see how thats possible cause then he'd have to kill all the fish."
Blossom protested.

I sighed mentally. "He threatened to hold you under the water until you
drowned." I explained to her.

Blossom paused, then nodded. "Oh...well, why didn’t he just say that
then..that other head isn't very nice." she growled a bit as we walked away.

After we got a fair distance away, we reconvened to discuss. We were out
of earshot of the beast, which Dawn made sure of before suggesting the next
course of action.

"Just kill it." Dawn said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

I looked to Dawn. "That makes a ruckus...and I'm not sure of our chances.
You really think we should?" I really was hoping there was a better
solution, despite the pretty obvious chances that there wasn’t.

"Well, someone seems to have neglected to bring the hippie-grade
tranquilizers,” Dawn noted. “So... yeah."

"I can't use poisons, and you know that." I reminded her.

"No, I have those..." Blossom said. She rummaged in her robe for a bit
before pulling out a small pouch. I looked over at her with surprise. SHE
had the solution?

"When did you pick /those/ up?" Dawn asked with as much surprise as I had.

"When we were after Nkosi." Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "I made them."

"How do they work?" I asked, tentatively.

"Well, we can either get him to eat them,” Blossom said. “Or...if we could
put them on him like in his blood."

"We're amazingly short on IVs if you didn't notice." Alex noted.

I sighed a bit. This talk of poisoning the thing was making me uneasy. "There's always the old fashioned way."

"I always have a crossbow." Blossom said. That’s right, she had gotten a
crossbow from RI and she’d kept it the whole time she was in the grove. I
was glad she had it suddenly, since if she did the poisoning, my hands were
clean.

"Hmm?" Alex asked.

Blossom pulled her crossbow out. “See?”

Alex nodded. "Ah. And our backup plan would be?"

"Run like hell?" I said dryly.

Alex smirked. "Can do."

"I am not sure how much we need to hit him with though...or..if it will
affect him." Blossom stated with uncertainty. "He's a lot bigger than
Nkosi."

"I have no knowledge of poisons." I said as Timmy looked to me.

Alex took the hint. "But we don't have to be too careful with the stuff.
He doesn't have to survive it."

Blossom turned to look at Alex a bit crossly. "I don't want to kill him..."

"Me neither, but if it's him or Nick, I choose Nick." Alex said.

"I nominate Tim and Lex to cover her if it goes sour." Dawn noted. I
looked over at her curiously, since she’d excluded me, but looked back to
the group just in time to catch Alex nodding.

Blossom nodded as well. "Alright. I'll need a minute to poison the
thing." She set the crossbow aside, opening her potion vial and dipping one
of the bolts into it. I noted that the container for the poison seemed to
be all-natural. Kinda ironic. After a few moments she pulled the bolt
out. “Alright, I think that will be enough.” She recapped the vial and
started loading the crossbow. The bolt was dripping a green, viscous
liquid. “So, how do I get close?”

"Why don't /both/ of you shoot this thing?" Dawn said, looking at me with
a pointed glance.

"I don't want to kill him." Blossom reiterated.

"Because I can't use poison." I reminded her.

"One bolt probably won't kill it." Alex said. "But we have to keep him
entertained until he falls asleep."

"If he runs around, it will spread faster." Blossom reminded us.

"That's true." I agreed with Blossom.

"Well fuck, give the cross to Tim." Dawn said in response to me. "Hell,
coat Lex's wings in the stuff."

"Umm...." Alex didn’t seem entirely happy with that suggestion.

"No, i said I don’t want him to die!” Blossom exclaimed. “He might be
mean but doesn't deserve to die!"

"Dawn, I can't give someone it either. That falls under being an
accessory." I explained, feeling kinda sheepish.

"What?" Dawn said. "Nathan, honey... Pragmatism. What happens when this
thing kills half your friends because it didn't get taken down fast enough?"

Alex smirked a bit at that. I weighed my options. Dawn had a legit point,
but...it wasn’t honorable...then again, neither was getting everyone
killed...

"I have enough for five Nkosis.” Blossom said. “If you accidentally get
some of this in your mouth it might kill you."

"Is that in your code?” Dawn said. “Come on, hon. Spirit of the law rather
than the letter."

While I was standing there, I took the crossbow out in one hand to
consider. While I was lost in my own thoughts, Alex jumped over and
grabbed at it with a talon. He grabbed it and pulled it away easily
because of my surprise.

“Hey!” I shouted. I didn’t know what he was doing, it wasn’t like he could
use it. But I didn’t want him to break it with his feathers. It’s
designed to take a few hits, but not the kind of abuse a stormwing could
deliver. That said, I didn’t make any moves against him, because...well,
stormwing. More blades than I wanted to take a go against in any situation.

Alex turned away from me, shielding his body from me with a wing. "Bloody
thieving stormwings..." he said, as he hopped over towards Blossom.

Blossom looked at him. "How do you expect to fire it? You might cut it."
she said to Alex as he hopped over.

"Well, there are other people with hands here.” Alex said, pointedly. Now
I got it. I wasn’t comfortable with being sidestepped this way, but again,
I didn’t have a lot of choice.

"Well...I’ll coat another arrow, but only fire if it doesn't seem to work
okay?" Blossom said tentatively, looking across over all of us.

"Your chances of hitting him a second time while he's angry are slim." Alex
pointed out. He had a point.

Blossom sighed and sat down, taking a bolt out of the magazine and coating
that one in poison too. After she was done, she looked to me and Tim. "Okay, who's taking the other one?"

"Well, either Nate butches up, or Tim takes it." Dawn said. Tim shrugged
at that.

Blossom looked at me, almost pleadingly. It was obvious she didn’t want
Timmy to take it.

I sighed. After a moment, I said, "Fine." and tried to take my crossbow
back from Lex. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately let me have it
back.

Blossom gave me the bolt hesitantly, but nodded. “Only if it doesn’t seem
to work,” she reiterated to me. I nodded, loading the bolt into my
crossbow like it was diseased. Which I guess it was, in a sense, given it
was covered in poison from the tip to halfway up the shaft.

"Alright..ready." Blossom said. I looked to her and readied myself as
well, mind racing. Was I going to get smited or punished for using poison? I really hoped I wasn’t getting myself in deeper, here.

Blossom turned to us. "Okay, how do I get close enough?" she asked.

Alex leaned over towards me. "Sorry about that, dude." he whispered. I
nodded to him, then turned back to the meeting.

"Team effort.” Dawn said. “Looks like we're all going in. I'm no good in
close quarters fighting, so I'm going tophat to make sure it doesn't summon
anything at us." She paused. "I'll stay low and get in if things turn
bad, but I'd /really/ rather not.” I nodded my affirmation to Dawn.

Alex nodded to that as well. "I think it's best if I also take to the
skies."

"Think one of you can carry me?" Blossom asked Dawn. Alex looks to Dawn,
sizing her up. "Just in case?" Blossom added after a moment.

"Not effectively...” Dawn said, shaking her head.

"It wouldn't have to be too far...just out of reach?" Blossom pressed.

"You're not going to be able to shoot effectively like that." Dawn pointed
out.

"This is after I shoot,” Blossom said. “I don’t think I can run faster
than him...”

"And anywhere I could get you, poochey can get faster. That's a no-go."
Dawn continued.

"Then I guess I'll have to think of something..." Blossom said. She nodded
nervously. "Okay, everyone ready?"

Dawn nodded and took flight without another word.

"We'll just have to keep him busy." Alex said encouragingly to Blossom,
then he followed Dawn.

Blossom loaded her crossbow, and prepped it, chambering the poisoned bolt. Then she started walking straight towards the Cerberus, the weapon pointed down at the moment. She was mumbling what sounded like a prayer...I
doubted Selene would intervene, but I was grateful for the thought. I
followed along, my own crossbow held loosely in one hand and hauberk worn
over my standard armor.

As we got closer, Blossom started scanning the area, seeing if there was
any place she could run to, or possibly hide if need be. Unfortunately,
the blast crater was barren of anything of that style...probably
intentionally. “Selene, give me strength,” she said as she finished her
prayer.

I was vaguely aware of Alex circling above us, gaining height and keeping a
good eye on the creature. Dawn was near him; Tim was back aways from me
and Blossom, because he didn’t have a ranged weapon. I accompanied Blossom
up towards the Cerberus, heart racing, hoping this wasn’t gonna be the end
of the party, so to speak.

The cerberus watched us approach. After a few moments, the right head
said, "Oh yeah, /that/ ain't suspiscious." It spoke to the other two heads
and it roused itself, pulling itself up to its feet.

Blossom narrowed her eyes as she approached and called to him as she got
closer, lifting the crossbow towards the meat of the creature’s body. "Let
us in and we won't hurt you." she told him.

Alex was circling above. I was sweating bullets.

It didn’t take us long to get a response, the cerberus charging straight at
Blossom and Tim. Tim drew a huge-ass bastard sword and stood his ground. Blossom didn’t wait a second, either, and shot her crossbow at the beast’s
chest and center of mass. Best target as he closed. Then she turned tail
to run, having no other options if it charged. The bolt connected and
embedded itself in the chest, but it didn’t have any immediately visible
effect on the monster.

I took a step back out of the charge for now, prepping my own crossbow. Then I had to duck suddenly, as Alex, the flying razor factory, descended
from over me, zipping over the heads of the others, and moving to try and
slash the monster with razor wingfeathers.

Meanwhile, the cerberus was bearing down on Tim. Lex got ploughed into,
despite the pointiness. In the middle of this game of chicken, Alex pulled
up. Unfortunately, the scales on the Cerberus were easily enough to take
the abuse of the gliding blow. Then the thick lizard-like tail of the
cerberus came up and smacked Lex in the less armored human torso, knocking
him out of the sky like he’d met a baseball bat. He hit the ground hard
and lied there in a crumpled heap. FUCK.

I aimed for a clean shot, but couldn’t get one quite yet. Tim was too
close. I held my fire.

Blossom was running. She wasn’t even looking back. She looked around, but
kept running, trying to stay ahead of the cerb. She looked at the river
and angled there, but seemed hesitant at best.

Tim ducked and rolled, avoiding the cerberus, then coming up to slash at
the monster’s sides with his sword as it barrelled past. There was a NASTY
gash cut by his sword, but the thing shrugged it off.

Blossom kept running; she nearly tripped twice, and then she reached the
river, looking back to see where the monster was. Dawn looped above me, I
saw her shadow on the ground, but there wasn’t anything she could do at the
moment. Alex was motionless, probably knocked out.

The monster disengaged from Tim and moved to chase Blossom. Easiest to
take out, and she was backed against the river. I looked to see if the
monster had slowed at all...but for all the action, we’d only been in
combat for maybe 10 seconds. It just hadn’t been long enough.

I kept my aim there, hesitating. I should probably be pulling the trigger,
but it was...hard. I knew the thing was poisoned and I wasn’t sure if I
could get away with it.

Blossom looked back at the charging cerb, then took a deep breath and jumped into the water. “Blossom!” I shouted, noticing the current was
pulling her downstream towards the mouth of the castle.

The monster stopped upon seeing that and turned back. Apparently it didn’t
want to go in the water either. Alex groaned loudly, and started to move. The monster beared back on Tim, who took his ready stance again.
Downstream from Blossom, the water started roiling unnaturally.

Blossom was swimming her hardest, but the current was stronger than she
was. She tried to swim to shore, but the current was just too strong for
her, so she settled for just keeping her head above water. Downstream from
her, large tentacles started to pierce the surface of the water. Something
was hungry. Alex rolled over on his back, and started to stand back up.

That wasn’t my primary concern at this point. The cerberus charged Tim
now. Tim went low and forward to evade the three pairs of jaws, and then
dragged his sword along the thing’s underside. But this cost him; he got
stepped on by by a wickedly clawed rear paw. He groaned loudly. Alex
rolled back to his feet, broken feathers shaking off him like glitter. That said, he was clearly still woozy.

The reality of the situation hit me like a punch to the gut. We didn’t
HAVE any other options except the one in my hand...and my line of fire was
finally clear. I lined up the shot, took a deep breath about what I was
going to do, and started firing. The poisoned bolt flew true, hitting the
monster in the neck. The beast turned and started bearing down on me. I
managed to cycle two more bolts into it, both in the faces, before the
thing got too close for comfort. It was starting to slow visibly, but it
was still moving fast enough that I had to roll out of the way.

I managed to avoid getting run over like Tim had, and jumped back to my
feet. I took stock of the situation as the cerberus turned around. Alex
was still getting back to his feet. Blossom was struggling to get to
shore...I saw Dawn taking a dive at her, yelling “Blossom! Hands up!” Blossom put her hands up and her head down as Dawn grabbed her and started
dragging her to shore, flapping like hell in the process.

"Little piece of shit..." The cerberus said as it started coming at me,
snapping me back to my own situation. It came more slowly this time, with
three sets of snapping jaws. It was going too slow for it to easily
overshoot this time, which left me one option. I turned around and started
booking it in the other direction.

Tim got himself painfully to his feet in my peripheral as I was moving. Blossom was on the shoreline, coughing and spitting, and Dawn was panting. Fuck. If that poison didn’t work soon someone was gonna get screwed up by
the monster.

Suddenly, I heard a curse and a wingflap, then a shouted, “Fight a monster,
you coward!” I turned around to see that Alex had jumped back into the
fight, slashing at the cerberus like a blender. The monster backed up at
that, not wanting anything to do with the wall of blades. I took the
opportunity, pulled my crossbow up, and shot it twice more, emptying my
magazine. Both bolts struck, lodging in the thick skin.

Alex backed up after his initial attack to realign his blades for another
attack. I dropped the crossbow and drew my sword, having nothing else to
use and no time to reload. I suddenly found myself wishing for a rifle.

The cerberus moved forward to attack Alex, then faltered, missing a step. Alex and I both flinched backwards...and then the cerberus staggered
further, shaking a bit. It shuddered, one leg collapsing.

"Oh... Oh FUCK you..." it said, staggering and then with a loud WHUMP, the
cerberus collapsed, quickly falling unconscious.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter_the_Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Descending_Into_Darkness|Descending Into Darkness]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld

2013-09-13T11:54:54Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enter the Underworld}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

I turned and looked around. As my eyes adjusted, it became obvious we were on a large stone platform. There was nothing on it, except the mirror, held up by two statues. There was a sky above us, but it was night...or would’ve been. There was a full moon above us, despite it being a few days from such in the real world. The terrain...well. It was completely nonsensical and screwed up. Like Dr. Suess had met MC Escher and they made landscape paintings.

I dug into my pack, pulling out two rods I’d picked up from a magic item vendor. Each had a wrist strap for the wielder, and a cap on the top. I’d been told they glowed constantly, and now it was time to find out. I popped the cap off of the two of them and was rewarded with a bright glow, like a torch, but not as harsh. I slipped one around my left wrist and pocketed the caps, and offered the other rod over to Timmy. He took it and slipped it over his own wrist.

I glanced to Dawn as Alex eyed the terrain.

"And here we go." Dawn said. "Anyone waiting for the sun to come up, don't hold your breath. This shit makes even less sense than the stuff on the surface." Well, there went that hope of mine. "And I know we're on the surface, it's just a surface that's... I dunno, /behind/ everything rather than below it." Dawn continued.

Alex nodded at that and chuckled slightly.

"Well dunno 'bout you but lets make haste and get the kid." Timmy said, taking a step forward.

"Please, Tim, slow down.” I said. “We want to bring everyone back, and being hasty is a way to not do that."

Timmy shrugged at me, but nodded. He stopped.

"Operational plan for dealing with monsters?... Let the men handle it." Dawn said. That was fair. We both had the weapons, and neither Dawn or Blossom was terribly intimidating. Alex nodded a bit apprehensively at that.

"Yay I get to poke stuffs..." Timmy said with mock enthusiasm.

"Thanks." I said dryly. I changed the subject. “Well, Dawn, you're the guide..."

Dawn nodded, looking around. "Now... Maps are entirely useless here, since shit shifts around without warning, but luckily, the place we want to go is at the bottom. We travel downhill, follow the rivers, we get there."

"Ok. Again, everyone, remember. No eating any native food without mine or Dawn's permission, and silence is not a yes." I reminded, mainly to Blossom and Alex. Timmy didn’t need the reminder.

Alex unfolded a wing slightly, like he was raising his hand. "Um, how do we get out?"

"Mirror, don't break it or we gotta eternity of bad luck." Timmy joked.

"Can't break it. These things are /made/ to be invincible." Dawn clarified to Alex. "You do the same here as you did in the temple there. Stare at your reflection for a few minutes, and /will/ yourself across. On this side, you don't need a priest to kick it off.

Alex nodded. "Okay, I understand." I was glad to get this knowledge as well, myself.

I started off the platform with a step. "Timmy, in front with me, please." Timmy nodded and fell into line. “Blossom, you stay behind us, but keep your eyes peeled.”

"Alex, you're with me." Dawn said. She hunched over, spread her wings, and took off. Alex followed suit a few moments later.

Timmy and I started walking, but we barely made it 30 feet before there was a loud shriek. A bat, twice Dawn’s size, dropped off a twisted spire nearby and started to chase her. Dammit! They hadn’t even been in the air for 30 seconds! I got a good look at the thing as it zipped past. Glowing eyes, huge glistening fangs. I had no idea what we’d done to piss it off, but I stowed my lightstick and started to get my crossbow out, starting to prime it to fire. Timmy didn’t have a ranged weapon, so he drew his sword and shoved Blossom behind him, keeping an eye for anything groundbound. Blossom yelped, but stayed behind him for now.

"Daaawn!" Alex shouted.

Dawn banked hard. "Oh fuck you!" She called out, with an undertone of “Already?!” in her voice.

My crossbow clicked a bolt into place as I cranked the bolt the third time. I lined up a shot and fired at the bat. Unfortunately, Dawn was too far away for me to get a solid bead on the target by now, and so the bolt went astray. I started to prime the thing to fire again, watching. Had I just gotten Dawn killed?

Dawn dropped altitude, and power-flapped towards Alex, seeming to mean to fly as fast as possible straight under him. Alex bore down on them, and as Dawn passed him, extended his talons. The bat flew right into them, getting raked as it passed, but it kept flying. A glancing blow. I trained my crossbow on the bat, but it was still out of range.

Dawn wheeled around, the bat RIGHT on her tail. “Alex!!! Batter’s up!” she yelled. Alex shouted a curse and wheeled around as well, setting an interception course for the bat. Dawn zipped past, and Alex tried to bring both his wings down on it.

The bat decided it was having none of that, and tried to use its superior mass against Alex to body-slam him out of the way and keep going. That must’ve been the plan, at least. But Alex was a stormwing, and there’s no such thing as a glancing blow when stormwings are involved. Alex spun around at the hit, almost losing his balance in flight. The bat, meanwhile, had blood SPRAY out of it from all the new lacerations it had just gotten. The three of us on the ground got a bit of wind-blown spatter distributed down to us as the bat plummeted to the ground.

"Ugh..." I said, wiping some flecks of blood off my face as I lowered my crossbow. Dawn was safe, I could relax.

Alex tumbled a bit, but righted himself. He headed over towards us, seeming slightly dazed but otherwise alright. Both him and Dawn landed nearby.

Dawn was breathing hard. "Holy shit... Alex, Alex. You alright, buddy?"

Alex landed hard and staggered, falling flat on his face. He lied there for a moment. And then the sound of speech came. “Cool!” He picked himself up, and looked at us. He was grinning the most I’d seen since the forcemark.

"Okay... Maybe I'll stick to the ground..." Dawn said, tentatively.

I nodded to her. "Probably a better idea."

We started walking, passing the bat-creature. It wasn’t moving and its torso looked like it’d had an argument with a cutlery drawer. Based on the mess, it had already bled out. Tim stabbed it once for good measure, but barely even got any blood, confirming my initial suspicion.

{{separator|k}}

Some time later, we were taking a break from the hike. I was looking around, keeping a good eye out for any further danger. It was pretty dark. The moon was hovering directly overhead, which at least gave us SOME light. The terrain was rough, but nothing impassable. At least for now. But nothing was moving near us, which was a good sign.

The fliers and Blossom were between me and Timmy, and we had the lights off for the moment. Blossom was cleaning the blood off of Alex with some water and a cloth. After she finished, she took some fresh cloth and wrapped it around her fingers where she’d gotten herself cut on his feathers.

"Okay... Take two... I'm going to take Alex tophat again, alright?” Dawn said tentatively. “God willing, we won't have anything else waiting for us."

I looked over and nodded. "Be careful, Dawn. I want everyone coming home."

"Hey... It's me." Dawn flashed me a grin, and then she took off with Alex.

We sat there for a few more moments, and suddenly Tim spoke. “Water.” I looked at him oddly; he had his own supply...no. I heard it too. There was water flowing, somewhere nearby. "What I mean is we're supposed to follow it, right?" he added to the statement.

I nodded and stood up. “That's true." Blossom stood as well.

"It's dark as shit up here!" Dawn yelled down.

"Then come down, if you can't see." I called back to her, looking up.

"I can navigate, but I'm not going to be much help spotting anything." Dawn said.

I nodded and took out my lightstick. "Understood. Stay safe."

"Navigation seems like the most helpful thing." Tim noted as we started out.

Dawn swooped down to a lower orbit. "Small river ahead. Should be a tributary to one of the five big ones we're after!" She started flapping again, heading higher up again.

"Gotcha. Headed that way now." I called, and then started forward with Timmy and Blossom.

Things were...almost normal for the moment. I could hear bugs and crickets nearby, and the sound of the water. It was quiet. An insect the size of a chipmunk scurried in front of me. I winced a bit, but it left us alone. My eyes darted around at movement, but we didn’t encounter anything as we went forwards.

"Do we have enough supplies for the time we are here?" Blossom asked nervously.

I looked back to her and nodded. "Between us we’ve got about a week and a half of food. We'll need to purify water, but aside from that, we'll be fine.”

Blossom nodded to that and fell silent, just fidgeting with her hands for now.

About 10 minutes later, we reached the riverbank. There was an obvious shelf where the water level had been higher in the past. But there was a partially worn path there, so the water couldn’t have been up that high for at least a few months.

"Is the water safe to drink?" Blossom asked me, looking at the river.

"Only when filtered." I replied.

"Filtered..." she nodded to me.

We started down the path, heading along downriver. Despite Dawn’s concern, her and Alex both managed to spot a fair number of hazards. Some minor monsters crashing around, a few giant pit traps with teeth that looked sorta like that monster from Star Wars, and what looked like an enormous Venus Fly Trap with long thorny tentacles nearby. It cost us some time, but with two eyes in the sky we were able to make good time, even when avoiding such dangers. Nothing really seemed interested in hunting us down, so...as long as we could avoid a fight, we’d be ok. The less fights I had with this group, the better, so I was happy about that.

We passed a few villages on better areas of the riverbank. People will set up anywhere they can, I guess. We gave them a wide berth, but no one inside seemed to pay us any mind. Live and let live, I guess the term is. As long as nothing bothered us, I was ok with this for the time being.

A while after that, we had to backtrack significantly on a bit of washed out path, to get up on a cliff and follow that. A few of the critters on the cliff rather vigorously defended their territory, but nothing attacked us. Five to one isn’t good odds.

After a few more hours, Blossom spoke as we approached another village. “Should we maybe ask someone down here? They might know shorter routes?"

I glanced to Blossom. It wasn’t actually a horrible idea. I waved up, trying to flag down Dawn with a pre-arranged signal. She dipped her wings in response and dropped down, landing nearby after a minute.

I looked at Dawn as she landed and caught her breath, then spoke. "Blossom suggested asking the locals if there were any shorter routes. I'm unsure; ideas?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not much point. All we need to do is keep moving downhill. The rivers are the best way to know we're doing that."

"Where are we going anyway, is there like a soul...gathering spot?" Alex asked.

"Maybe they can give a quicker route?" Blossom suggested. "Perhaps maybe even get us to Hades faster?"

Dawn shook her head at Blossom. "And before you ask, no there are no major roads. No, there are no monster-free zones... And... Yeah, we're headed to the collective bottom of the toilet.” She nodded to Alex.

"How do we find one soul in a big ol mess of em?" Timmy asked. Legit question.

“I have an idea where he is,” Blossom said.

"I have no idea." Dawn admitted. “I think that comes down to negotiation.”

"What do you mean?" Blossom asked.

"With Hades?" Timmy guessed.

Dawn nodded to Timmy. "Yes."

"They might still be deciding his fate." Blossom said. Hadn’t we discussed that already? "If it was that important then I am sure he will be with Hades."

"How long it take to decide something like that?" Timmy asked.

"I heard it takes quite some time." Alex said.

"I as well." I agreed.

"So, perhaps the locals may know where Hades is right now." Blossom said hopefully.

"Cool...let’s just get there an' out before we either wait, our turn, or his fate is decided." Timmy said, adding. "If I were a local I wouldn't wanna know where Hades is."

"The Hades we're concerned about is the place that the Styx flows to." Dawn said, ending the conversation...or at least that topic.

"On a side note, I'd also want to know is if we're going to meet Nick or Nkosi." Alex asked.

"No idea, Alex." I said.

"What's a soul look like anyway?" Timmy asked. Fair question.

"It is see through, and wispy." Blossom nodded.

"Oh...well we gonna get movin' or just chat here?" Timmy asked.

"I would suggest we move quickly." Blossom said naively.

"They're actually physical here." Dawn said, answering Timmy’s earlier question.

"Really?" Timmy asked. "How's that work...an' what'll it look like if this dude was split up?"

"I thought you said you'd been down here before..." Dawn said, pointedly.

"Place is creepy as shit, bein' down here doesn't mean down here long." he responded. Great.

"Anyway, the virtue of us people of higher intelligence is that we can walk and talk at the same time." Alex said, trying to get us moving again.

"Ouch. Score one for Lex." Dawn said.

I winced at that too. "Then let's go." I started moving and the rest fell in behind. Dawn and Alex stayed down with us for the moment.

"So anyway how 'bout my questions." Timmy said, looking at Dawn.

"I don't know." she responded, hopping forward.

"So we'll find out, yay." Timmy said dryly.

"This is just one big adventure." Alex said, with a snicker.

I mentally facepalmed, but kept going. We needed to keep going, I just needed to whip them into shape more.

"Going tophat." Dawn’s announcement shook me out of my thoughts. She took off. Alex followed her.

A few hours later, we were all slowing down. The full moon was still there, and it was still night but it felt like it was getting later in the ‘day’. I started looking for a secluded area for us to make camp. It took us awhile... about an hour, to find a suitable location near a rock outcropping. Alex and Dawn did one more sweep and came back. Dawn told me we were pretty close to one of the five main rivers, but admitted she didn’t know which one.

We got the camp set up. No tents...Dawn had told me they were just a liability down here so all we had were bedrolls and sleeping bags. Once I got that done, I subdivided tasks a bit. I got enough kindling together to start a fire, using Alex’s lighter. I started cooking the food while I got Timmy to take water from the river that I purified with iodine tablets. Dawn helped where she could, but this was definitely one of the less fun aspects of realmwalking, at least for me.

After a while, dinner was ready and I distributed portions. They weren’t excessively generous yet, but there was more than enough food to keep everyone going. Everyone ate, mostly in silence. Dawn ate without her chopsticks...Alex apparently hadn’t learned to use them yet, so she was trying not to irritate his self-consciousness about that fact.

After that, we got ourselves situated for sleeping. Shifts, locations, everything. Blossom was already dozing on a flat rock she’d eaten on, but that was ok...she’d need the sleep and I didn’t quite trust her with watch shifts anyways. Alex and Timmy dozed off as I took the first shift, using the time to clean the plates and such and generate lots of fresh water for tomorrow, filling all the canteens.

{{separator|k}}

Dawn woke me up the next ‘morning’, towards the end of her watch. She’d had the last one. Wasn’t the best sleep I’d ever had. Some minor nightmares. That said, I was still alive. After I was awake and had some food cooking, Dawn went to wake the rest of them up.

During breakfast, I took some glances around the group. Timmy was already wide awake and keeping his eyes out. He was a solid choice. Alex was grumping off to the side a bit. Blossom looked grim...she clearly didn’t like this place much. She also hadn’t slept well, based on her appearance.

After we’d all gotten the dishes cleaned and slaked our thirst, we headed out again. My pack was lighter than it was yesterday by a bit, which I was silently thankful for. We got down to the river and started following it downstream again. The terrain was less difficult here, smoothing out. It was all downhill too, which was nice. That said, we made about the same pace, since Dawn and Alex were spotting nasties to avoid more frequently. After a while, I dug the hauberk out of my pack and slipped it on, since it seemed increasingly likely we’d end up in a fight with SOMETHING. Alex seemed to be spotting nasties much easier than I would’ve expected. I guess stormwings have good night-vision. Not that they like to fly in the dark sans thermals, from what I understand.

About halfway through the day, we came to a very, very large crater-like bowl. The river flowed down into it, heading towards what looked like a squat and sinister-looking castle in the center of the bowl. The river simply flowed in there through a massive opening. Alex swooped in and landed near us on the edge of the crater.

"...well shit...what's that?" Timmy said as we saw it.

"Our destination." I responded.

"Smartass, I mean what's in there." he shot back.

"Our destination." Alex repeated. Dawn did one final loop and then came down to land with the rest of us.

Blossom shivered a bit. “Nick...” she whispered. She seemed least comfortable of all of us, down here.

"That too.” I glanced to Dawn. “Hades castle, I presume.”

She shook her head. "No."

Alex looked to Dawn. "Hmm?” His mouth echoed my thoughts.

"This is just the front door. The rivers travel /down/ and merge somewhere... Or they're supposed to." Dawn explained.

"Oh fun." Alex said, humorlessly.

"If we had a boat this would be much easier." Blossom offered as an idea we couldn’t use.

"So where do souls gather, or will we ask Hades nicely to fetch 'im for us?" Timmy asked.

Blossom shrugged at the question, but noted, "I do not think we will be so lucky." Kid was growing up a bit. Alex chuckled a bit at that.

"Damn...please an' thank you is supposed to work." Timmy said sarcastically.

"Anyways... Up until now we were able to largely avoid the shit of this place... That changes when we start into that fort." Dawn said ominously.

"Constant attacks?" I asked. “Among other things?”

Dawn shook her head. "Not that bad, but no ways around, nothing. We deal with what comes at us, one way or another."

I nodded to that. "Understood."

"Ah... Okay." Alex said.

"Cool." Timmy said. Ugh, being cocky again.

Alex shot Timmy a look. "Not cool." Timmy shut his mouth without saying anything.

"What would happen if Hades knew we were here?" Blossom asked of Dawn.

"My guess? Nothing." Dawn said.

Alex nodded. "He's got bigger things to worry about?"

I looked to Dawn with masked uncertainty.

"Is there anyway to contact him once we are inside? Perhaps he might give an audience with us about Nick?" Blossom asked.

"Do we have to?" Alex said.

Dawn wingshrugged at Blossom and Alex. She took a breath and said, "Shall we folks?"

"We're not getting any younger." I agreed.

"Lets get this over with." Alex nodded.

Blossom nodded as well."Yes, it is what we came to do."

Dawn nodded, then looked to the stormwing in our group. "Alex, you and me are flying the supplies down. It's going to be a rough way down for everyone."

"Okay, how do we do that?" Alex asked.

"I'll fly the packs down one at a time. You fly escort for me, alright?" Dawn said.

Alex nodded. “Ok.”

The three of us all took off our packs and left them there as we started down the cliff. The upper walls of the bowl were scree slopes. Not the worst terrain I’d ever handled, but by no means pleasant. I was glad my boots supported my ankles well as we went down. It took a lot of teamwork, but we managed to make it down with effort.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering_the_Team|Gathering the Team]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Cerberus|Cerberus]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team

2013-09-13T11:53:47Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathering the Team}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was the morning of the 20th. Dawn and I’d made good time from Corinth, even pushing a bit after dark during the night, using some stealth. Just being by myself really helped in a few ways. We were coming down the mountain, approaching the edge of the grove by now. I had the data from the archives tucked down deep in my pack to protect it, and was carrying two copies. I’d also tried to memorize some of it when I had time.

I had spoken to Dawn of my dream the night of the 18th, and she had listened, and offered her opinion that it sounded like a vision...that it might be Nick’s soul going to the Underworld. But she admitted it was a total guess, and neither of us could really do anything without getting to the grove. It still ate at me in the back of my mind, what I’d seen, but that was all it could really do. I just hoped it wasn’t true what I’d seen...but I had a nagging feeling that it was all too real.

As we reached the edge of the grove, Blossom was there waiting for us. Dawn saw her from her orbit above, and swooped down to land next to me. I didn’t like the feel of this, but I didn’t have much option. I waved to Blossom as I approached, feeling suitably grim.

Blossom’s expression was as dark as my thoughts. “Welcome back,” she greeted us, but without her customary enthusiasm.

"Hello, Blossom. Are you well?" I said. I waited for her answer, expecting fears to be confirmed.

"Well enough." she said, clearly trying to dismiss the question. "Did you find anything?" she asked bluntly. She was...all business. Very direct and to the point.

"We didn't hire any mercenaries, no.” I stumbled a bit, taken aback by Blossom’s directness. “We got some news that we figure was a bit more important..." I went straight to the point. "Is Nick alright?"

Blossom shook her head. "No, he is not, His fate is trying to be decided right now."

"I expected about as much..." I said, trying to sound confident; if I sounded uncertain, Blossom would be completely deflated. So that was his soul I’d seen...he would be in the Underworld. Fate being decided...what did that mean?

"That is why we must leave very promptly if we are to get to him in time." Blossom said with a nod. All business, indeed.

"That's the same that I thought.” Another bluff. “I got some extra supplies for the trip." That was true.

"Do you have guide to Hades?" Blossom asked, again, very directly.

I took a deep breath. "I took the liberty of getting one, yes."

"Which is to say, me." Dawn said to Blossom. I nodded in agreement.

Blossom looked at Dawn, quirking a brow but just shook her head without saying anything. "Then, should we get ready to go?" she asked.

"We should, yes.” I agreed. “Need to get there before they make a decision."

"They won't." Dawn said.

I looked to Dawn. "Explain, please?"

Blossom nodded in agreement with Dawn. "They are confused by him.”

"I mean it. Time gets stretched and folded down there, and they take longer to decide anything than is comprehensible." Dawn elaborated. "That's why you don't ask them for anything. By the time the fates decide that you can borrow a toy, you already need dentures."

I nodded slowly, understanding. Somewhat. I’m used to time being a fairly constant thing, I guess. Luxuries.

"I still want him out of there soon, he does not deserve such a place as that." Blossom said.

"We've got a body, we've got a decision snarl... We might just have a real shot to make this happen." Dawn sounded...maybe just a touch enthusiastic.

"I am still troubled by something...I have been thinking about it since yesterday." Blossom said.

"Ok...what is it?" I asked.

"If Nick is down in Hades realm, where is Nkosi?" Blossom asked.

"That, I can answer...he's dead." I confirmed.

"I know that,” Blossom said, somehow politely. “I meant his half of Nicks soul...is it back where it belongs?"

"Oh...I don't know that." I said, looking to Dawn. She wingshrugged.

"Then perhaps we will have to ask, once we go there." Blossom resolved.

"He might be in the Egyptian Realm, they might be together; that's a good idea." I said. What else could I say?

Blossom shook her head. "No, my dream told me where to find Nick, he is under Greece."

"The Underworld." I stated.

Blossom nodded. "Yes."

"Dream?" Dawn asked, eyeing me.

"Yes, from Selene." Blossom nodded.

"I don't quite follow." Dawn said.

"My dream showed Nick standing in a room with a bunch of others, as his fate was being decided by these fates and another person." Blossom explained.

I browquirked. "That matches up with what I've heard sometimes..." And seen in the archives.

Dawn was the realist. "Alright... So what do we /do/ now that we know this?"

"We collect our things and head for the Hades realm." Blossom stated simply.

"Easier said than done, Blossom." I said, a bit edgily.

"Why is that?" Blossom asked.

I looked to Dawn, hoping she’d back me up a bit. "Monsters, for one. There will most likely be fighting."

"Yes, and I do not foresee a problem with that. You have been there before, yes?" she asked me.

The confidence was cute, but worrying. "No. I have not been to the Underworld yet. Dawn has, though."

"You don't see a problem with fighting for your life?" Dawn asked seriously.

"My life isn't important, Nicks is.” Blossom stated. “Is there not a way we can go around the monsters or be granted an audience?"

"You don't want an audience with them." Dawn said. "By the time they decided whether to grant us an audience, we'll all be dead of old age."

"Alright, can we go around the monsters?" Blossom pressed.

"Not really." Dawn said, shaking her head.

"Then there is no alternative." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"One stormwing might not cut it." Dawn noted, seeing where Blossom was going.

"Then we shall bring Alex with us." Blossom nodded.

"That's the stormwing that won't cut it." Dawn explained patiently.

"Then why did you not hire mercenaries?" Blossom asked.

"There's just as many available in Corinth or Sparta as Lecci.” Dawn said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Then we shall hire some there. Can we not discuss this on the way?" Blossom said, clearly impatient.

Dawn looked at me. It was nice to still have her in my corner.

I paused, considering it. "We can. If you desire to go." I said.

"I do desire that, yes. I will not stand by and do nothing if i can help." Blossom resolved.

I nodded. I couldn’t blame her...I’d have done the same if it was my parents or Dawn. "Then we shall pack and leave either today or tomorrow.” I said. “We’ll get Alex and get ready.” I started deeper into the glade, looking for the resident stormwing. Dawn nodded to Blossom, and followed along with me.

{{separator|k}}

After finding and catching Alex up, Dawn had gone off to hunt some food outside of the grove. The vegetarian fare in the grove really didn’t sustain her properly. It can’t have been good for Alex either, but he seemed to have already eaten for now. I was just resting on a rock, recovering. I’d pushed myself hard the last few days and it was catching up with me. And I was gonna be pushing myself more for the foreseeable future, so I should rest now while I had a chance. Alex was brooding nearby on another rock, but for the moment, he wasn’t saying anything.

After a while, Blossom came in on us. She looked a bit calmer than she was when we’d met her this morning, but she still had somewhat of a ragged appearance. “Hello.” She said.

“Good afternoon, Blossom.” I said cordially.

Alex looked up as well. "Hey Blossom."

"How are you all?" Blossom asked.

"I'm ok." I said.

"Okay." Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "Good, i thought we could talk a bit about what we’re going to do."

Alex ruffled his feathers, seeming to wake up a bit. "Oh yeah..."

"We need a plan, yes." I agreed.

"Well, where do we have to go to get access to the underworld?” Blossom asked. “Which places are close enough to hire people to come with us?"

I’d discussed this with Dawn a bit. Turns out that one of the known reflection points was in Athens, in an Athene temple, so it’d be easier for us to use. We’d have to get better directions once there. "You need to visit a specialized oracle, who will reflect you into the alternate realm of the Underworld. Once down there, navigation down the Styx is difficult and hazardous.” I took a breath. “But we'd be near Athens, which means that yes, we'd be able to hire mercenaries. Although for this job, they probably won't run cheap."

"What's this reflecting?" Alex asked.

"I will hire as many as we can." Blossom said.

Alex looked to Blossom. "Don't we want to hang onto our money?"

"Nick is more important than our money." Blossom said. When she set a goal, she meant it.

"Okay." Alex said with a nod. He seemed to agree, based on his tone. In either case, he decided to change the subject. “What’s this reflecting?” he asked.

“...I don't know much about the reflecting, that's what Dawn said they have to do. She's been down there, I haven't." I said, a bit sheepishly.

"Where is Dawn by the way?" Alex inquired.

"Off perhaps flying, or eating?" Blossom guessed with a shrug.

"Out getting some food, yes." I confirmed. Alex nodded unconsciously.

"So, we can make preparations to go to Athens then?" Blossom said, a bit excitedly.

"We can. Although I have a few warnings and issues to bring up." I cautioned.

"What is that?" Blossom asked. Alex made a thoughtful noise, but said nothing.

"First. I'll remind you again before we enter, but while in the Underworld, you are NOT to eat or drink ANYTHING without mine or Dawn's express permission." I said. My tone of voice was clear that there wasn’t any debate allowed on this. “Preferably both of us.”

Blossom tilted her head a bit. “Why, what could happen?"

"You could be forced to stay down there, or other bad things might happen." I explained. Alex nodded to that.

Blossom re-aligned her head and nodded. "Alright...anything else?"

"This werewolf. I got a name while I was out of the realms..."

"Aaron?" Alex interjected.

"Aaron Dawrey, yes." I confirmed. "He's being sponsored by 3R."

"What is that?" Blossom asked, as Alex groaned. Seemed he didn’t like the guy.

"Reuters Realms Report. The Realms news division of the news media conglomerate Reuters. Basically, they fund his travels in exchange for rights to his stories." I explained.

"What does that have to do with us?" Blossom asked.

"You know him, right?" I said.

Blossom nodded "Yes, I believe so...why is that an issue?"

"Well, meant to mention it in case you wanted to meet up with him or somesuch." I said.

"We do." Alex nodded.

"Yes, we could use his help." Blossom said.

I nodded. "Well, we'll have to see what we can do. He kinda fell off the radar.”

"If he happens to find us then i will ask for his help, but i believe we should leave promptly." Blossom said. Man, was she ever in a hurry.

"I agree." I said, not sure what else to say.

"Okay." Alex said. Seems he was in the same spot.

Blossom seemed to take that as an invitation to continue. "I will make my preparations tonight, so that we can leave tomorrow. But I have one more thing to ask."

"Shoot." I said.

"What do we do with Nicks' body?” Blossom asked.

"Well, he should be safe enough here." Alex mused.

I honestly didn’t know. "We may need to bring it with us. I’ll ask Dawn.”

Alex nodded. "Ah, okay."

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us. I looked up and saw Dawn circling lower, just having come through the canopy of the grove. She was coming in for a landing.

“Speak of the devil,” I said. I waved to her with my left hand.

Blossom tilted her head again. "Speak of who?"

"It's a saying, Blossom.” I explained. “‘Speak of the devil, and he'll appear.’ In this case, we were mentioning Dawn, and here she is.”

"Oh...I see." Blossom said.

Dawn dropped down, taking up a spot a few yards from Alex. There was a bit of blood on her chest, but I doubted it was hers. "Hey...What'd I miss?"

"A bit of planning for the trip." I said.

"Good hunting?" Alex asked. Blossom stared a bit at the blood, but didn’t say anything.

"Got what I needed.” Dawn said to Alex. “Ah, so where are we at?"

"What to do with the body." I said.

"Umm ... what to do with /Nick/. He's not quite dead." Alex said, sounding a bit offended.

That had been a crass way of putting it. "Apologies."

"It's alright...but yes we do need to discuss this." Blossom said.

"Leave it here." Dawn said. "You need to bring the soul /out/."

"Well, i suppose that would be best then we would not have to protect him..." Blossom posited.

"And haul him around the place the whole time." Alex added.

"Dawn's the expert now, not me." I said, nodding to her.

"Don't worry, we won't fire you yet." Alex said with a weak smile.

"Then we shall leave him here. How fast can we get to Athens?" Blossom asked.

"Two days with you and me, Blossom. Here's my suggestion...Alex and Dawn leave and start screening mercenaries in Athens while we travel." I said, looking around to see what people thought.

"Travel to where?" Blossom asked.

"Athens." I reminded her.

“Then why split up, if we’re both going to Athens?"

"Because Alex and Dawn can get there in a few hours, Blossom."

"Oh..right..wings." Blossom nodded, getting my point.

"Exactly. They could probably make it tonight." I confirmed, then looked back. Blossom fell silent.

Alex seized the opening, turning to Dawn and asking, "Nate talked about an oracle Reflecting us. What's that?"

"A reflection is..." Dawn paused. "Well... Hard to explain. The underworld is...It's like stepping through the mirror."

"Ummm, like here but not quite?" Alex queried.

Blossom nodded at the answer. "If you could leave before us, it would be greatly appreciated; I must go and make preparations now." she stood

"That's it, then? We're going?" Dawn said. I nodded to Dawn.

Blossom nodded. "Yes...thank you for doing so." Then she hurried off like someone had just lit a fire under her tail.

“So, do you need to rest a bit?” Alex asked Dawn.

"Not really... Bloods kinda still up." she replied.

"Okay, then shall we leave right now?" Alex asked.

"No.” Dawn answered, looking to me. “Wait for morning. Nate’ll have instructions for us."

"Aah, okay." Alex nodded. He sighed. “I'll go catch some sleep then..."

*Dawn nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"Good luck." Alex said, and headed off to find a nice quiet place to sleep.

Dawn looked at me after they both left. “Gods, Nate. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too,” I said.

{{separator|k}}

We left the following morning. Alex and Dawn went ahead as Sprout and I travelled the roads. It took us some time, since the roads were washed out, but we managed to make it to Athens in four days, after accounting for some delays. We then spent a few days gathering supplies and getting info, and getting the final approval on the merc.

Timmy was a British human merc we hired, bearing a Zeus mark. Judging from his accent, you would’ve thought he was from New England, but his parents apparently had emigrated from the US some time before he was born. He was a big guy, bigger than me, and knew his way around blades. He had some solid credentials as a bodyguard and escort, and critically had done underworld runs before. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, he was DEFINITELY quite full of himself (Dawn nicknamed him “Hot Shit”), and he wasn’t exactly cheap either. That said, he filled the role we needed of a combat specialist and meatshield, so in the end he got the nod.

I’d also picked up a hauberk and a sword from the local RI outpost on loan, since I figured I might need the extra protection. The hauberk fit me fairly well given it was a standard model. It was made of anodized aluminum, 2-in-8 chain mail. It would’ve been nice to have had custom, but it was the best I could ask for on such short notice. The sword, on the other hand, was a sword. It was actually a pretty high quality item, but I wasn’t worried about the sword as much as the skill of it’s wielder. Swordplay was never a high-study area of mine.

So after we’d gotten everything situated, made an agreement(Tim wanted half up front!), and got all the packing done, it happened that on the morning of August 29th, two humans, a fox, a harpy, and a stormwing headed into an Athene temple...in fact, the same one in which I was originally marked in. The former three of us had a great deal of supplies loaded onto us; by now I was quite a bit more buff than when I’d started. Normally my runs didn’t last this long and the constant workout was good for my body. Dawn had a small satchel on her as well, but it only held a very small amount of gear.

Once we got in, we got asked our business. I was the frontman for our group’s communications, as I was the Athene mark. After I made my intentions clear, we got herded down below into the underground levels of the temple. I’d never been down here, so I glanced around as I was down there. We were escorted the whole way, though, so I didn’t get to take that good of a look at anything. Eventually, after going down a LONG way, we emerged into a room that was pretty much stark empty. There was just some (magical) lighting on the walls, and a pair of large marble Athene statues. Between the two statues and held up between them was a massive polished sheet of silver.

We stood there for a few minutes, before what I recognized as a local high priest came down, accompanied by another man. After they got in and got to the front of our group, the high priest spoke...in Greek. So the other man was a translator. We exchanged pleasantries and were asked about our mission, and then we got down to business.

“He requests that all five of you stand before the mirror.” the translator said, interpreting in real-time.

I went over and stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I can see why they called it a mirror, the silver was polished perfectly and flawlessly. I was shortly joined by the rest of my party, as I watched them in the mirror. I looked back to the translator once I saw them all, and nodded.

"Now, stare directly into the eyes of your reflections, and do not look away." he instructed.

I looked into ‘my’ eyes, staring. I blinked occasionally, but kept the focus staring ahead, feeling...a bit silly, to be honest. I counted mentally in my head, hoping that nothing had gone wrong. It was maybe a minute or so later that I got a feeling of what seemed to be freefall. Like the ground had just dropped out from under me. My hands shot up reflexively, but the feeling was over before they even moved.

Suddenly, the mirror background changed to pitch black. My eyes got wide as I saw that. There was still light coming from behind us, but none from the mirror. I felt that freefall sensation again, and the darkness in the mirror shimmered, then took on the appearance of the temple room. But now it was... different. Reversed. Like I was looking through a window at a copy of myself (and my companions, for that matter), rather than a mirror. My peripheral vision indicated it was totally dark around me.

The translator who had been off to the side still looked like himself. He gave me a thumbs-up, and then the mirror shimmered again, the window fading, leaving the mirror nothing more than another immaculate polished sheet of silver.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding_Dreams|Foreboding Dreams]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter_the_Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Forboding Dreams

2013-09-13T11:52:56Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forboding Dreams}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

We went back on the ship on the 18th, and it was a quick transit. The wind was behind us this time, so we made good time, with a planned arrival on the 19th. WIth a bit of luck and some drive, Dawn and I could make it down to the grove by the 20th and meet up with them for more planning. I was still worried about Nick, but there was nothing that I could do until we got there.

On the evening of the 18th, after dinner and some chatter, I’d gotten situated in one of the hammocks they had below decks and started to drift off to sleep, aided by the rhythmic rocking of the ship as we moved. There was some creaking noise but I was able to tune it out mostly. Dawn was already asleep, perched on top of my secured pack. I became vaguely aware of my marksense turning back on...we were back in realm. Good...we could make the grove and then...well. I tried to tune the worry out of my mind and drift off to sleep.

I don’t know how long it did or didn’t take, but suddenly I felt a sensation. I was floating, but not far above the ground. I opened my eyes and looked around, and there I was, in Selene’s grove. It was like...lucid dreaming. I knew I was asleep, and I was aware of it, but at the same time I had no control over anything. Like...a dream message, perhaps.

It was raining lightly, but not bad, just a gentle shower. Nick was visible nearby, waking up, like he’d just had a bad dream. I tried to call out to him, but no sound came forth. Nick stood up, and started searching for something, and as he moved, I felt myself being dragged along behind him, like an observer...something told me my job here was just to watch and learn, not to do anything.

After a short while, Nick found what he was looking for: Blossom, who was out tending to the grove with a few other wardens as per her duties. As I looked at her, she became backlit and I saw what she was doing; she was moving a spiderweb out of the rain. As she finished, Nick approached her.

“Hey...Blossom?” he said, trying to get her attention.

Blossom looked back at Nick. "What is it?" she asked, politely. Again, like a daughter asking her father.

"Know those dreams you keep havin'?" Nick said. I was vaguely aware of other things, but other people were masked in shadow, and beyond a certain distance, everything was blanketed by a thick fog. This was what I was supposed to pay attention to.

"Yeah?" Blossom responded.

"Had something weird go on...few hours ago. Where's Alex?" Nick inquired.

"I don't know..meditating, maybe?" Blossom suggested

"Oh, anyway I have a really bad feeling..." Nick trailed off, looking visibly ill. I couldn’t pin down how, but he looked sick. Something was wrong.

Blossom walked over towards Nick. "Alright...let’s go find him, then?" she said with a smile.

Nick smiled back. “Alri-...” Then his expression went blank, and empty. His eyes looked hollow.

Blossom blinked, staring at him "What is it?"

Nick suddenly started falling to the side, like all his muscles had gone slack.

Blossom jumped with amazing speed to catch him, and lowered him down to the ground. "Nick..? Nick!?" she called at him, trying to get a response. Nick’s eyes slipped closed and his mouth hung open slackly, no reply.

Blossom yelled, trying to get another warden over to help her. She got a response shortly from a dryad and a centaur, who came over. Blossom said something about getting Nick to the sleeping lodges as they hefted up the tiger-man. They responded, but I couldn’t hear it...I somehow knew they answered in the affirmative despite this. But that wasn’t my focus. I could tell Nick was simply dead weight. I could see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, but beyond that there was no activity from him. If I hadn’t seen the breathing, I would’ve mistaken him for a dead body.

Another backlight appeared, and some...fluid started dripping out of Nick. But not in a gravity fashion, more like it was being pulled by something else. A thick, viscous iridescent substance, like nothing I’d ever seen, came out of him through no visible hole or opening. I watched in shock as it fell to the ground and pooled...and then slipped right through the floor of the grove and disappeared out of sight, the backlight fading after it was gone. I didn’t understand what I’d just seen, but I was pretty sure there was nothing good that could come of it.

Blossom tried to shake Nick awake as she followed the centaur. "Nick, wake up...please.." Nick didn’t reply. Blossom ushered him out of the rain, crying a bit. It was hard to see with the rain, but yet I saw it. As they moved, I felt myself pulled along.

Soon, they approached the front of the earthen temple at the center of the grove. A backlight appeared again, and I saw Alex approaching in the distance as he became aware something was going on. He turned from the people he was with and hurried over, hop-running with his wings spread slightly for balance.

Alex suddenly glowed red, Sprout, the centaur, and the dryad glowed forest green, and Nick didn’t glow at all. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe...marks? Marksense? I couldn’t tell. The glowing stopped after a moment, and the lighting faded out as the centaur headed up the steps of the temple and went inside.

Following again, I saw them lay Nick out on an altar-like table. He started speaking in Hellenic. I couldn’t understand him, but I understood the gist...he wanted a healer. The reaction was instant, with four healers and what looked to be a high priestess appeared in short order, looking over Nick. Blossom stepped back to make room as Alex caught up. They started speaking, but the voices were muffled.

The glow appeared again, the green for everyone but Alex, (who was again red) with a very strong aura on the high priestess. So those were marks, probably...and that lack of glow meant Nick wasn’t generating one. But the mark was on your soul, so that meant...was that...was that his soul I’d seen earlier? The glow faded again.

The high priestess, another dryad, shook her head after a short while. "There's nothing wrong with his body." She paused. "His essence has... Somehow departed."

“What do you mean by that?" Blossom asked.

"He doesn't even have his mark ..." Alex said. That confirmed my earlier suspicions. "Is he dead?"

The dryad shook her head. "Not necessarily... His body lives. His essence continues... Somewhere. The two are merely separated by some means."

Blossom breathed in sharply at the “Dead” word, and then walked over to Nick, putting a hand on his chest as she started crying freely.

There was some more discussion. About what to do with the body, and a request to clear the room. But I became less aware of it...a fog started creeping in on the edges of my vision, and the entire place darkened. The sounds became fainter, more muddled, and after a moment, I woke up with a start, jumping up.

I looked around, trying to get my bearings...but other than another human who was staying up, who gave me an odd look, everyone was asleep. I looked around, but I didn’t want to wake Dawn right now. So I settled back into the hammock to try and get some more sleep, even knowing it wasn’t going to come easy. I spent some time reflecting on the dream, but all the answers I’d just got circled back around into more questions. I guessed I wasn’t going to get anything more without getting to the grove, and that’d be later...and as soon as I made that realization, I fell back asleep as surely as if I’d been clocked on the head.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce_Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering_the_Team|Gathering the Team]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Lecce Pit-Stop

2013-09-13T11:50:46Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecce Pit-Stop}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The travel was mostly uneventful, with Dawn and I arriving back in Lecce late morning on August 16th. It was intermittently rainy at the time. I was glad to get off the ship, myself. The past several hours had had some very choppy water and even I had started to feel it. Been hard to sleep. As I got off the ship and got my legs back, I helped Dawn onto the land and got us out of the way of other people disembarking. This ship had cargo on it, and they were bringing an overhead crane into service to help unload it faster, since we were out of realm. After we got some distance away from the ship and the docks, I turned to Dawn and looked at her.

“Anything you wanna take care of before we get down to business, Dawn?” I asked her, trying to be more formal. We were still out in public and all.

"I think my couch could use some making out, but that's really more of an evening thing." Dawn replied.

I smiled at that idea. "Yeah, probably. Sorry it's been so busy. Lot more work than I expected or was led to believe. Anyways, shall we go, then? My place, or yours?"

Dawn shook her head. "I just got a week in vacationing hippie-ville and a day with you on a boat with nothing to do but lie together. /I'm/ not put out." She giggled lightly. Then she got serious. “Yours. You have all your notes and crap there. I’ll head on over to admin and get us signed in, grab a shower, and then meet you there, alright?”

I nodded at that. “OK.” Then I started heading off to my apartment. A shower didn’t seem like a bad idea. Dawn split off to do her thing as I headed home. I took a shower once I got inside, getting my stuff off, and when I got out, Robjeet was home, doing what he’s always doing when he’s home: cooking. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go into all the questions with him, but it looked like I didn’t get much choice in this. I shrugged and came over.

“Hey man. How’ve you been lately? It’s been a while.” I said, leading in a bit slowly.

Robjeet looked over to me as I came out. "Nate. Holy shit, been awhile in stacks, mate. Pull up a chair."

I did so. "And it'll be longer, unfortunately." I said as I sat down.

"I just got back from a trip right over to the Dardanelles, I haven't been around in over a month myself." Jeet said as he stirred the food in the pot.

"Ahh. Ok, well it wasn't just me, then." I nodded. At least I didn’t seem like a stranger. "How'd that go?"

"Aheh... You've gotta get over there sometime, Nate. The scenery and the monsters are just specTACular." Robjeet smiled, emphasizing the last word.

"I'll make room for it on my list when I'm done with my current job." I said.

"Heh, word has it you're on an independant quest." Jeet said, glancing to me for a reaction.

"Kinda. I'm still getting paid." I noted.

"Score." Jeet said. "Heh, times like now I'm glad we're in the right realm. Fuckin' Danes and Lebbies are goin' nuts over Midgard and Egypt."

That didn’t sound all that good. "Care to fill me in?" I asked, tentatively, then shook my head. "Wait, lemme guess. Bast and Fenrir?"

"Heh, well Fenrir's agents have been stirring all over the place, lot of cash getting involved there. He's having gold dumped onto the world markets and has been buying up small tech companies left and right." Robjeet nodded. "Bast... Yeah, good call.”

I didn’t like the sound of that from Fenrir, given what else I sorta-knew from Blossom. But I had to know both sides, so... "And what's on her end?"

"Seems that tiger guy of hers snuffed it, and we're seeing the fallout. One of my buddies barely made it out of there. Seems those guys are throwing a deific hissy fit." Robjeet explained.

Nkosi was dead? Fuck, that screwed all of our plans right there. "Any details on that?"

"I'm waiting for 3R to make their report. Everything else is too scattered."

I nodded slowly. "Any more on that wolf virus Fenrir was after? That why he's buying all the tech companies?"

"Seems like. The buyouts have been going on for a month now, but there's some pretty heavy investigation.” Jeet said.

"Any more details on the specifics of the virus?" I asked

"Nobody can figure out if there really is any virus, or if that's all just a smokescreen." Jeet said, shaking his head.

I ran my hand through my still-wet hair. Just fucking wonderful.

"Whatsit, mate?" Robjeet asked. Musta been too obvious on my face.

"This more or less directly affects me." I explained.

"Whuh?"

"Remember those people on the news? Nick, Blossom, Alex?"

Jeet nodded. "Those the ones folks are going numpty over?"

“Yeah. Take a wild guess who's currently employing me."

Robjeet paused for a moment to process that. "Holy shit, bloke... Fuck the Dardanelles, stick with /that/." He let out a giddy little laugh and turned off the stove.

I smiled. "I plan to."

"They really from another dimension?" Jeet asked.

"If they're to be believed, yes." I nodded. "And there's been some evidence to the effect that they should be."

"So then... What're they doing? What are /you/ doing?" Robjeet asked, still slightly shocked.

"Condensed version is one of them got mixed up with Bast and needed that other tiger guy alive." I said. "I left them in Selene's domain to came back and hire professionals to that end. Course, now those plans'll need to change a bit."

"I'd say." Jeet understated.

"Yeah. That, and a few other things. It's a really long story, really." I sighed a bit.

"Sounds to me like you might have your first book deal." he said encouragingly.

"I might. It depends how it turns out." I hadn’t even thought about that. But right now I was kinda worried about Nick. If they really were a ‘fractured soul,’ what happened when Nkosi was killed?

"In any case, let me say Fenrir's actions make me nervous, at least. They refer to the other guy as a werewolf, and...I’m not exactly keen on Fenrir getting his paws on something like that.”

Jeet nodded. "You figure Fen might be trying to duplicate that?"

"Since one of their werewolves is supposedly on this place, yeah, I'd say so." I sighed. "Not happy thoughts."

"Oof..."

I rubbed my brow a bit. "More questions right now?"

Jeet offered a plate full of half a pot of stir fry. "Just one: want something to eat?"

I took the plate gratefully. "Thanks, man. Dawn'll be over shortly, hope you don't mind. We were gonna put up an ad for the professionals. Now...not sure what we're gonna do."

Robjeet started to eat the other half right out of the pot. "Need me to clear out?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, not neccesary." After a moment, I asked. "Gotta question for you..."

"Eh?"

"Ever heard the term 'fractured soul'?" I continued.

"Maybe in a few cliche video games and vampire movies." Robjeet noted.

"But never in connection to the Realms?" I pressed.

"Ahhhh... Not really... What's the context?" he asked.

"A person who's been split into two separate entities by a deity. In this particular instance, Bast." I explained.

Robjeet paused. "Ohhhhh... Shit...You're talking about the Nick-Nkosi thing, aren't you?” He nodded somberly. ”I never thought of that."

"I would be, yes." I paused. "If the one's taking a dirt nap...well, now I have to wonder how my client is doing."

"If there really were some soul ties left over... Yeah, something weird might've happened." Robjeet noted.

"And the boat doesn't leave for a few more days, then I need two days to make it to Selene's domain." I gave an exasperated sigh. Just one more disaster...

"Right..."

"Wonderful. Maybe we'll have details at least on the death before I leave." I said, putting more food in my mouth.

"3R." Robjeet noted.

Not a bad idea. "Yeah. I'll check." Eat more food. Nice to get a home-cooked meal again. "So yeah. We've got Fenrir to worry about in a general sense, and I've got Bast to worry about too. Before I even get to my clients."

"Things are always darkest before the dawn, right mate?" Robjeet noted.

"Yeah, that's true. We'll see how it turns out, I guess..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was low, focused towards the ground. "That'd be Dawn." I finished my food off and went to open the door. Dawn was indeed there. She invited herself through the door and stepped inside. "Hello again; they say anything down at Admin?" I asked.

"The usual."

I nodded. "Plans changed. Again."

Dawn glanced to Jeet. "Ey there RJ."

"Evening, Dawn." he responded. The two of them were friends, but tonight Dawn seemed all business.

Formalities now taken care of, she looked to me. "Yeah?"

"Robjeet says Nkosi went and got his ticket punched." I explained.

"Aw fuck..."

"I was just about to check if 3R had their report up on it yet."

"Right." Dawn said. "We have two days here, anyways... May as well see what we can do that's useful."

"Yeah. Probably don't need the mercs anymore, though." I shook my head, then headed over to the computer and booted it up. I helped Jeet with the dishes while that was going on, then came back a few moments later with an extra chair for Dawn. I took the browser to 3R and looked up the data on a search; Dawn hopped up onto the chair.

3R had nothing beyond the initial data. Nothing terribly specific...mostly speculation about "If it's true, then we can expect blank" articles. Nothing that confirmed the death yet. Well. As Dawn noted, we had a few days for confirmation on that. I moved onto other things. There was TONS of speculation on Fenrir, but nothing on this “Aaron” the others seemed to know. Speculation on the virus, conflicting stories, legal hurdles. Fenrir’s one of the more expansionist gods; he’s got lawyers and many of the trappings of modern society.

There was also an article about how they’d seen Blossom in the grove a week or two ago, and some speculation. One article saying they’d been unable to reach their realmwalker for comment...heh. I’d been busy. After a while, I gave up with a sigh.

“Any suggestions, Dawn?” I rubbed my forehead as I looked to her. Dawn had vocal control to my computer, so I was inviting her to put in her own search term.

"I say we use that bed of yours and give the reporters a good 10 hours to get their shit straight." Dawn said.

"Sure, sounds like an idea." I said. I was tired and we’d hit a dead end, so why not make some use of the time. I closed and locked the door, and then we both spent some time cuddling on the bed before we both fell asleep.

{{separator|k}}

I woke up several hours later. It was probably about 8AM, meaning I’d ‘overslept’ a fair bit, if I’d been in realm. I’d been asleep for probably 8-10 hours...I can’t sleep forever. That said, my bed was comfortable enough to make a convincing argument otherwise, especially with Dawn there. She was lying with her feathers against my side, one wing over me, breathing quickly enough that I knew she was awake too. But clearly, both of us were in no rush to let this moment go. It took me about ten minutes, but I finally mustered the self control to get up. I wasn’t off the clock yet.

Dawn’s wing slipped away from me as I started to move off the bed. “Mm?” she said a bit drowsily. And with a hint of disappointment, too.

"Need to get up. See if there's any more news...besides, can't sleep any longer." I explained.

"Busy bastard." Dawn said.

"Sorry." I smiled wanly.

Dawn snickered lightly and got up. She started redoing her chest-wrap; that’s kind of a complex process for her, but by now she had it down to a well-practiced dance. Meanwhile, I went over to the computer and sat down. You know, in the all of four feet between the bed and computer desk. I loaded 3R again, and checked if anything new was up. The story was indeed up, big flashing headlines. “Bast 2IC Killed in Tel Aviv.”

"Story's up," I told Dawn as I loaded it. I read with rapt attention; the article confirmed the death of Nkosi, by an unknown commando group of five or less, with the final wound inflicted by sword. Further on, it detailed the likely impacts on trade this would cause, and what factions and marks should stay away from the area while Bast vented off her anger. Athene was listed as one of those advised to stay away, though Echidna, Typhon, and Selene were not listed.

"5 or less people, unknown, sword. And I'm advised to avoid the area,” I repeated to Dawn. “Wonderful." I rubbed my brow. Just what I *DIDN’T* want to wake up to.

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Dawn said.

"Depends." I replied. "Worried about Nick."

Dawn stepped over to the corner of the bed nearest the computer. I slid away to let her read the article, but she only skimmed it, not seeming as much interested in reading the entire thing.

"What do you want to do while we're out here?" Dawn asked.

"Not sure anymore; you got a suggestion?" I turned back to the computer and checked my email. I went through it and answered what I needed to, deleted what I didn’t. It didn’t take too long. Dawn just waited.

"Was gonna hire the mercenaries, but that's not necessary anymore...now I've gotta bear the bad news back. Fun." I was more talking to myself than anyone else. Not complaining, really. Just trying to make sense of it all.

Dawn birdsat on the bed. "And was going to get a hot breakfast and shave."

I smirked. "That doesn't need to be mentioned; you know I always do."

"Lighter side." Dawn noted.

I nodded. "Thanks."

I headed to make a breakfast for us. Robjeet was already out, probably to the gym, so I made us both some oatmeal and eggs. Nothing exceptionally complicated, but a nice change of pace. We made small talk during that time, and afterwards, I went to shave. Trying to shave with a straight-razor on a ship, especially in choppy waters, just doesn’t work. So I had close to five days of stubble to shave.

After a few moments, I heard a knock at the bottom of the bathroom door from Dawn. “Hey, Nate...I’m going to head down to the archives, see if there's anything in the V-logs about this stuff, alright?" V-logs are venture logs, the data compiled after a run about things. It’s the best way to find out about more-obscure realm details and stories.

I nodded, even though Dawn couldn’t see it...and nicked myself with the razor. Dammit. "That's actually a good idea; I'll meet you down there when I'm done." Dawn answered in the affirmative and headed down. After I’d stopped bleeding and finished shaving, I followed her down about a half-hour later.

When I got to the archives, I had to glance around a bit before I found Dawn. She was sitting at a table with a few items pulled from the archives. A few were books, which meant they were older, already having been compiled. There were a few newer ones which were still manuscripts being worked on.

I pulled up a seat at the table across from her, glancing over what she had. "Found some stuff, did you? Cool. Anything you find yet, or should I start browsing one myself?"

Dawn talon-grabbed a book and plunked it over to me. Guess it was the latter answer. "I grabbed a few Egyptian and Greek logs. Let's see if we can't find something at least a /little/ similar to what we're dealing with." She said. "Focused on Underworld-y stuff.”

I took the book and started at the index, skimming through it and looking for anything useful. This was a well-developed skill for me, from my time in school. Seemed it was one of The Mordant Cadre's venture logs. The Mordant Cadre are the rock-stars of realmwalking, with their members having been present at many of the major events over the last two decades. They’re a great resource and have been in more than a few movies and documentaries, when they have time.

The book chronicled one of their forays into the underworld of Greece. It was long, complex, and dramatic, and told from about a dozen viewpoints. Skimming was indeed useful...after I finished that book, I went to the next. All told, me and Dawn were down there about 6 hours before we ran out of material. We compiled what we knew about souls and the underworld into a few pages of written notes, and I made a second copy just in case.

The next two days were full of general resupply and I had to check my equipment for realm degradation. A few parts in my crossbow needed to be replaced due to corrosion. We also had a meeting with AdminOps to explain what was going on. It wasn’t a huge problem, we just had to explain what we were up to, and they knew we were in kind of a rare situation. So we just had to fill out paperwork, and promise that we’d keep paying our dues on the money I made, whenever I got paid.

I also made a phonecall to my parents, explaining why I’d been out of touch. That went...a bit more rockily. They’d been worried I was hurt or something, and they still didn’t entirely approve of my job. And someone had told them a...wildly inaccurate description of what a Mark was, and so I had to spend a lot of time explaining that to them. I still got a bit of a reaming though. But after a few hours on the phone, we got everything squared away for now.

After that, I spent some time with Dawn on the night before we left again. We were in the middle of general small talk when she asked.

“Have you told them about me, yet?”

I paused for a second. Wasn’t a question I was keen on answering. "Admittedly, no. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to mention that."

"Don't think they'll react well, huh?"

"I honestly don't know." I said. "I can tell them if you'd want."

Dawn shook her head. "Nah, I'm not gonna force it. Was mostly just wondering."

"Ahh. Well, it'll come up eventually, I'm sure. Just been avoiding some of the more edgy issues right now. They may not be SUPER religious, but sometimes they judge before they get all the info."

Dawn paused, then commented. "Went badly?"

"Not the worst. They found out about Marking from someone else, and so inquired about that. Not the worst reaming I've ever had, though." I admitted.

"Lucky." Dawn said.

"Thanks." I said. I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment, but...I figured I’d take a shot.

"I seem to remember a similar conversation, that ended with 'well, we'll see you when you get your body back, dear.'"

Oh. That wasn’t a compliment. "I thought your family visited you sometimes...?” Pause. "Some of them, at least."

"Some, sure. It helps."

"I'm sorry..."

"Come Christmas, I'll introduce you to my brother." Dawn said, trying to break the mood.

I nodded. "I look forward to it."

Dawn hopped off the couch and onto her bedding. She didn’t have to go far, given her studio apartment. I joined her after a moment, and she scooted over to make room.

"I stopped being depressed about it awhile back." She admitted.

"That's good." Didn’t know what else to say.

Dawn relaxed against me. "Nice that most people can see deeper than the feathers."

"Yeah." I still was kinda...unsure what to say.

Dawn picked up on it. She looked at me in the eyes. "Where do you see this all going, Nate? Once this is all over?"

I’d never thought about it. "The relationship? A few more months, some more dating, and further than that in the future." It was the best I could come up with.

Dawn smirked, laughing once. “No idea either, huh?”

She saw right through me. "Not really, no. Sorry."

"Scared?"

"Of?"

"Of what the future holds for us."

"Yeah, I am."

Dawn smirked a bit more. "Been there, Nate."

"Glad I've got company, then."

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back_to_the_Grove|Back to the Grove]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding_Dreams|Foreboding Dreams]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Back to the Grove

2013-09-13T11:49:12Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back to the Grove}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The boat had left the next day, so we all got up and made it. It wasn’t Nick’s first time by boat, and he seemed to handle it better than the other two had. He was also in seemingly better shape than Alex and Blossom had been, so we made excellent time heading down to Selene’s grove. It only took us a bit over a day. Nothing really major happened, either. A few stormwings got close, but once they sensed Nick had a mark, and they saw me, and realized I was in no mood for any more bullshit, they more or less left us alone.

It was about midday when we arrived, and Nick was panting. He was more used to this, clearly. He’d required a lot less oversight than Blossom had, being able to signal when he needed a break, and keeping himself hydrated for the most part. It was actually relaxing a bit for me to not have to babysit quite as much, and just work with someone who had experience. It was about midday as we crested the mountain and descended into Selene’s grove.

At the edge of the grove as we approached was the rest of our group. Alex and Dawn were there, both with a bit of sweat on their brows. I’d seen them out flying a bit ago, so they’d obviously spotted us and landed to greet us. Blossom was there too, some flowers in her headfur, her robe hood pulled down. I still swear she looked like a healer out of some fantasy game.

"Hey dudes." Alex said sheepishly to Nick as we approached.

"Hey Blossom...Alex?" Nick said, taking a guess. Alex nodded with a hurt look to Nick.

"Dawn, Nick. Nick, Dawn. And Alex." I introduced, adding Alex as an afterthought.

"Hiya Dawn." Nick said politely.

"Welcome to... What I'm finding out is actually a half decent vacationing hole." Dawn said, a bit of surprise in her voice.

I smiled a bit at Dawn. "Surprises, surprises."

Alex smirked.

Blossom went over to hug Nick, robes swaying a bit in the breeze as she did so. I suddenly noticed that the flowers were vines that she’d braided into her headfur. "This is Selene's realm. I welcome you to the grove." she smiled widely up at Nick.

Nick sighed, looking at Alex. "Sorry Alex, I really am."

Alex nodded to him quietly, but said nothing.

Blossom broke the silence. "It has been a long time since I last saw all of you."

"Yeah..." Nick said, picking Blossom up in a fatherly hug. "Sorry..."

I just stood by, letting them have their reunion. Nothing to say for the moment and I didn’t want to interrupt.

"Its not your fault." Blososm said, breaking the hug. Dawn hung out with Alex, since he wouldn’t be getting any hugs.

I looked to Dawn. "Anything of note occur?" Dawn shrugged and looked to Nick.

"Yeah...things have gotten complex." Nick said. He wasn’t who I was asking, but as good a time as any.

"Yes, but come we can discuss this a little deeper in the grove yes?" Blossom said eagerly.

"We probably should, yeah." I said. There’d be some more privacy and better surroundings, and we could all sit down.

"Alright." Nick agreed, and we headed in.

After a while, Blossom led us to an open circle surrounded by rocks. Once we stepped in, outside noise seemed to be dampened to a dull background effect, leaving us in almost complete silence once we were all sitting down. I’d heard of these. Meditation circles, they were called...they used a magical effect to minimize outside stimulii, in order that those inside could meditate or speak in peace without outside noise affecting them. There were rocks for us all to sit on as we settled in. Selene keeps a nice place.

“Do you folks need me for this part?” Dawn asked.

“You can come too, Dawn. It should be safe,” Blossom said.

Dawn glanced to me, since it was more aimed at me as a question anyways. I nodded to her. “Actually, I would prefer that, yes. If you’d be so kind.”

She nodded to me, and came along, sitting down next to me. It was nice having her back by my side for a change...I hadn’t realized how used I was to having her around until I was split up from her for so long. We’d need to take some good quality time to ourselves after this whole trip was done.

Alex hung around the outskirts, but Blossom gently put a hand on his shoulder. Very carefully, not to get cut. He flinched back a bit, looking to Blossom. “It’s ok...we’ll fix it.” Blossom said serenely. I have to admit, this place was a natural fit for her. She withdrew her hand after a moment.

Alex nodded. “Yeah...anyways, let’s get to it.” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and shuddering a bit as he exhaled, then looked over at the rest of us expectantly.

"To what exactly?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know what you’re talking about?" Blossom said curiously.

"Well, Nkosi and I need to get together somehow." Nick explained.

"Yeah, that's figured." I said.

"I can try to determine where he might be?" Blossom offered.

"And well I'm not sure what you guys learned on your travels but I can't go back to England." Nick said, then shook his head at Blossom. "I think he's in Tel Aviv still, no reason for him not to be."

"No? Why?" Alex asked.

“Bast wanted you and Blossom marked in Tel Aviv which I don't wanna allow...even if I could." Nick explained.

"Ah..." Alex nodded.

"Giving you up is a no-no, so we came here early." Nick explained.

"Early is alright." Blossom said.

"Other then that I dunno how we can refuse together, or lure him out yet." Nick shook his head again.

"I am training to be a warden of the grove and have had some..unique experiences.." Blossom said, enunciating the last part slowly as if something was wrong.

"Oh?" Nick said.

"Experiences?" Alex asked.

I looked to Blossom, then glanced around the circle before looking back to her.

“Bad dreams.." Blossom said slowly.

"Oh." Alex frowned disappointedly.

"Yeah tell me about it." Nick sighs

"Involving the people here." Blossom clarified.

"What happened?" Alex asked.

"I don't remember all of it, but something about you." she pointed at Alex. "And you" She pointed at Nick "A dark shadow reaching for you."

"...Bast maybe since we're both Feline." Nick posited with a shrug.

Alex nodded at that but said nothing.

"I don't know.." Blossom admitted. "It only happens when i sleep."

"That's dreams for you." Alex noted.

"Bad dreams...ugh." Nick said with disgust.

I had those sometimes. I’d learned to ignore them, mostly as an occupational hazard by this point.

"I bet you’re all tired from the trip, do you want to stay the night?" Blossom asked.

Nick nodded. "Yeah...though honestly I wonder."

"What’s that?" Blossom asked.

"How we'll get out of this...all different markings and need a reunion..." Nick said with a sigh.

"I’m sure we’ll find a way, don’t worry too much." Blossom said reassuringly.

Alex nodded at Nick. "Yeah ..."

"I do worry too much." Nick admitted.

I decided to break up this train of thought to something more productive. "You will need a significant plan in order to accomplish your goal. I'll say that right now."

"Enjoy the grove, its very beautiful..the springs are very refreshing." Blossom said, trying to add some levity.

"I have ideas but nothing's gone to plan so far." Nick sighed.

"Ok, what are they?" Alex looked to him.

"Nkosi is probably uber by now we need to lure him out of Tel Aviv and drag him either to Selene or Athena." Nick said.

"If he is so strong, then how do we capture him?" Blossom asked.

"Something non-magical, if we get him out of the realm. Magic won't work outside a realm so he can be taken out with drugs or whatnot." Nick mused. "Big question is how to lure him out of Tel Aviv."

"Some drugs work in the realms as well, but in the interest of full disclosure I should mention I can't utilize any poisons." I admitted.

"Tranq." Nick said.

"It doesn't have to be a poison." Blossom said, shaking her head.

"Tranquilizer is all I'm saying...anyway that might, might not work." Nick mused.

"I've learned a lot of things in the grove about plants and their uses so i could probably make something to help put him to sleep maybe?" Blossom offered.

"That's what a Tranquilizer does." Nick nodded.

"If you could do such, that'd be good." I said. Tranquilizer isn’t a poison, is it?

"I could talk with him.." Blossom said hopefully.

"Talking won't work." Nick said. I silently agreed.

"Have you all considered that he may know this is coming?" Dawn pointed out after a moment.

"Exactly, he might expect this." Nick said.

Blossom went over and took a seat next to Nick. I was getting a real father/daughter vibe from their relationship. "I still don't know how to get Nkosi out in the open...but I’m sure it will come in time.." she said.

"We don't have much time, he gets stronger as time goes on." Nick pointed out.

"He is probably already very strong right now." Blossom shrugged. She had a point. There was probably a limit to how much Bast could buff him. I didn’t say anything though, because I had no firm idea in that regard.

"Exactly." Nick sighed. Blossom nodded silently at that, and Nick glanced around. After a few moments, he focused in on Nick and addressed the elephant in the room. "So anyway, Alex you doing alright?"

"He's getting pretty good with the body." Dawn said encouragingly.

"Yeah." Alex said, without a shred of enthusiasm.

"That is good to hear...I’m sorry I wasn't there to help." Blossom said lowly.

"Nothingyoucandoaboutit." Alex muttered quickly, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I'm really sorry dude." Nick said, laden with guilt.

Alex sighed and looks down at the ground.

"I'll say it again, Alex, you've done... Very well." Dawn said sincerely.

Alex looked up to Dawn. "Thanks," he said, after a moment.

"It is too bad we couldn't help you Alex.." Blossom said.

"Hey dude...cheer up, it's my fault. Everything here is my fault, I shouldn't throw my friends at my problems." Nick said with a bit of guilt. Blossom glared at Nick with a “shut up” glance, and Nick frowned a bit, looking down.

"Lets just get us fixed." Alex resolved.

"I just hope you all understand what you're getting into..." Dawn said.

"What I've already gotten into...anyone told ya Dawn?" Nick asked, not with any snark, just a legit question.

Blossom took a deep breath. "We do, we know.."

Dawn nodded. "Yes. You understand that this could kill you?"

"Of course." Nick said,

"Yes, i won't let that happen." Blossom said, a bit naively. People die whether they want to or not. She stood up. “I need to go find something out.”

Alex looked over but remained silent. Nick, on the other hand, stood as well. “Hold on...can I come?”

Blossom nodded to Nick. “Of course."

"Okay." Nick went to follow Blossom.

"I shall be right back, I just need to ask something." Blossom promised. I wasn’t sure I agreed, but that was her prerogative.

I glanced over to Dawn as they left, then to Alex.

Dawn looks back to me, and smiled weakly. I echoed the sentiment, then looked back to Alex. He was staring at us, but not impolitely. It is an unusual relationship.

"Whell ..." Alex waited until the other two were out of earshot. "... good to see those dudes again."

"I'm sure it is, for you, yes." I nodded.

"Though I don't have a clue how we're going to pull this one off." Alex admitted. At least one of them was being realistic about it.

"Eh, Blossom's a good kid..." Dawn said. I had to agree. She wasn’t a bad person, just...naive and romantic.

"Yeah, she's a gem." Alex nodded. He tapped on a few rocks with a talon.

Nick came back after a few moments, minus Blossom. “So...yeah.”

"Welcome back." I said.

"Blossom's still busy?" Alex asked.

Nick nodded to him. "Thanks, what's up?" he said to me.

"Mm... Just enjoying the familiar company." Dawn said, glancing at me.

I looked over the people, then spoke to Nick and Alex. "When you two are finished chatting, I need to bring something up. So finish up."

"Well, what's on your mind?" Nick said, focusing on me. Alex also looked at me, putting all eyes on me.

"There may be another one of your people here," I explained.

“What do you mean?”

"A short while ago, someone submitted some evidence that it's speculated has to do with a retro-engineered wolf virus." I said. “Which Fenrir apparently wants, and apparently left the realms himself for. Something with some ‘werewolf’ or such. It’s like nothing anyone else has ever seen.”

"Great ..." Alex complained. “Brilliant!”

"Shit." Nick echoed.

“That was on the 30th; this report came out on the 5th..." I elaborated. "But needless to say, I'd personally GREATLY prefer if nothing happened on that particular end."

"But where the hell would that have come from?" Alex asked. Nick gave him a meaningful glance, and he elaborated. “I mean, the virus. It had to come from something; virii don’t live long.”

“Someone is here with it." Nick said.

"Exactly, so there's another one of us weirdos out there. Unless he's dead already, which is likely." Alex said.

"Unlikely...” Nick noted. "If Fenrir wants a werewolf then he'll track it down."

Alex nodded.

"Break out the silver, ma." Dawn joked. Alex smirked.

"Yeah silver'll do it." Nick said a bit drily. “Anyway.”

"Yeah. Just so you're aware that I may want that lead followed up on as well." I said.

"Yeah we'll figure that out." Nick nodded.

"No probs." Alex agreed.

"Then...anything else?" I asked. That went faster than I’d expected.

"I'm...I dunno how to describe it." Nick said, sheepishly.

"You could describe it with cash, perhaps..." Dawn led.

Alex smirked at that and nodded.

"I'm sure you two'll appreciate that." Nick smiled. "I mean emotionally." He sighed and looked over to Alex. "Alex, I swear I'll get you back to normal."

"Thanks. I'm holding out okay for now." Alex said. I couldn’t tell if it was a lie.

"I really do feel bad, you've been through alot." Nick moped.

Alex eyed his toes. "I'm okay." Yeah, it was bravado.

"Yeah, no offense but that form is really quite awesome incase Nkosi gets rowdy." Nick said, trying to butter him up.

Dawn looked to me. "They thought I was joking..." she whispered.

I glanced back. "Shh, for now."

"All the physical strength in the world couldn't defeat you." Nick continued to Alex, not having noticed our exchange.

Alex spread a wing and held it out. "Really?"

"Heh yeah, give him a hug and he'll be crying uncle." Nick nodded.

Alex smiled weakly. "Yeah."

Dawn kept her mouth shut at that. I did too. Didn’t wanna be the bearer of bad news at this junction. I did steal a glance at Dawn, though.

Nick rubbed his eyes for a moment. Probably had ‘something’ in them. For a tiger, he gave off kinda a pathetic vibe at the moment, I’ll admit. After a moment, he sighed, looking up.

"We'll fix you." Alex said.

"Yeah...despite everything I have to try." Nick said.

"Ok, so what's the plan?" Alex asked.

"I honestly don't know." Nick admitted. Great. "Gotta idea, but a concrete plan...So far so bad, I thought you and Blossom would come with Nate, visit Selene and come back to England." He sighed. "You and Blossom got marked and we were chased out of England."

"Recall that Blossom did so voluntarily." I noted.

"Yeah which is good for her...still quite a shift in the plan." Nick countered.

"Thank God." Dawn said to me.

"What form does Selene force people into anyway if she drags em in?" Nick asked.

Mental facepalm. "Is this the right place to talk about that?" I asked.

"I think Selene is one of the rare ones that doesn't force." Dawn explained. "Which, if I recall, was one of your reasons for choosing Athene, Nathan."

"Yes, it was." I affirmed to them.

"I think Selene is awesome, and if she's listening no that's not brown-nosing. I wish I woulda landed here or in Athens rather than Tel Aviv." Nick proclaimed. Kinda a shift in tone from his earlier statement.

Alex nodded.

Nick fell silent after that. I glanced around to the others.

“Anyways... Lex, if you want to show Nick around the glade a little, or take him outside of it so you can show him what you do to bushes..." Dawn said, seemingly wanting a bit more time with me. It *HAD* been over a week.

"...huh?" Nick said, uncertainly.

Alex smirked. "Sure. Nick, you coming?"

"Uh sure, got my curiosity piqued..." Nick said, standing.

Alex hopped off his rock and walks over to Nick. "Guided tour of the glade, or do you want to see the bushes first?"

"Heh sure. Now I wanna see what you do to the bush, not in the bush." he joked.

"Hmm, I don't know how stormwings do that...." Alex said, as they headed off in a direction out of the grove.

Dawn, for her part, went to drag me off to a good, more private camp spot, taking us out of the meditation circle. And then we spent some time catching up, which we both desperately needed to do.

{{separator|k}}

It was the next morning. We had found plenty of food and shelter with the hippie commune in Selene’s grove. They were...about as stereotypical as hippies come, according to Dawn. I wouldn’t have known either way, but I trusted her judgement. Most of the ones we met professed to be from North America, or Western or Central Europe. They weren’t bad people, just a bit...odd, for me, I guess. But hey, whatever worked for them.

The next morning most of us had gathered back in the meditation circle. All of us were there except Blossom, actually. I was sitting there with Dawn by my side. Alex was perched on a rock unhappily, Nick was lazing. After a while, Blossom showed up, looking a bit troubled. She still had her robes on and the vines in her hair, and smelled slightly of cannabis.

"Morning." she greeted us as she entered the circle. "I hope you slept as well as me?"

"Eh...I'm feline. I nap with the best of ‘em." Nick joked, trying to insert some humor.

"I did, thank you." I agreed.

"Yeah, I got some shuteye.” Alex said.

"That is good," Blossom nodded, then scratched her head. "I had the weirdest dream last night."

"Again?"

"This one was much stranger." Blossom said.

"Oh...kay, what's up?" Nick said to her. I just listened for the moment, having nothing to add.

"It had Nkosi and someone else I don't know of...but they were going to fight. Fenrir and Bast were there too..controlling them."

Alex glanced to me at that. I shrugged, looking uneasy.

Nick quirked a brow "Fenrir?" He sighed and shook his head.

"Scandinavian wolf god." Dawn explained.

"Mentioned him yesterday, remember?" I reminded.

"No offense but hope nothing comes of these dreams." Nick said, head down.

"I don't know but maybe it means something." she describes what sounded like an anthrowolf, roughly matching the description I’d seen in the news of the other realmie.

Alex stared at her, but said nothing. He recovered after a moment.

“Eh...” Nick shrugged. “I bet Nkosi gets in fights all the time, we need to fight him too."

Alex nodded in response.

"I thought it was kind of funny that Bast and Fenrir were using them like puppets," Blossom said, giggling slightly.

"Blossom that's not funny...I am Nkosi." Nick said.

Blossom stopped dead, glaring at Nick and growling at him. "You are not!" Alex backed up slightly in surprise, and fell off of his rock with a loud clatter of metal-on-metal.

"We split in two, she's using me just like she's using him." Nick said to Blossom.

"Whoa, settle down..." I cautioned Blossom. Last thing we needed was a fight amongst ourselves.

Blossom ignored me. "That doesn't matter, you both are two separate people...and if i hear you talk like that again I’m going to pull your ears off!" she grumbled at Nick.

"Separate for now, we're working to get us together." Nick said.

Alex picked himself up with a groan. Dawn glanced to him.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m ok.” Alex said.

Blossom was taking deep breaths, calming down. She exhaled loudly, then looked at Nick. “No more talk like that. We’re going to fix this."

"Exactly..." Nick said with a sigh. I looked around the group, waiting.

Blossom nodded to Nick, seemingly pleased with that response. She spoke again. "Alright now, does anyone know the other person I described?"

“No.” Nick said, frowning.

Blossom looked to Alex next. "E-eh, no." he said, sounding a bit evasive. I glanced over to Alex with a look at that, curiously, but let it slide for now.

Blossom looked to me and Dawn. “Nothing more than the news.” I said, as Dawn wingshrugged.

Blossom nodded. "Well in any case we have to maybe find this person." I browquirked at her unusual statement.

"We do." Alex said. He paused a moment. “If he needs a name, it could possibly be Aaron.”

"Aaron? Again..." Nick looked concerned.

"I'm missing something.” Dawn said.

"Well we need to find him.” Blossom resolved. “I saw a map but not sure where they were coming from, where is Fenrir located?" she asked us.

"Fenrir would be in the Scandinavian realm.” I explained. "Except for his recent jaunt out of the Realms recently."

"To where?" Blossom asked.

I shrugged. "Didn't say. He's back in the Realms now."

"No offense, but Fenrir...really isn't a priority at the moment." Nick noted.

"None taken. Was just giving info." I explained.

"Well, Aaron-if it’s who you say it is-was headed for Bast, walking across the map." Blossom noted.

"I do not know him but that was my dream." Blossom said.

"What's the significance of this Aaron guy?" Dawn asked.

"... umm ... " Alex said, clearly uncomfortable.

I let Dawn do the talking for the moment. It let me listen for now.

"Well, Fenrir was controlling him, going to fight Nkosi." Blossom repeated.

"Nothing, he's just a guy we knew.” Nick said. He paused, and Alex opened his mouth. "Fight Nkosi?" Alex closed his mouth without saying anything, clearly having had the same question.

Blossom nodded. "That’s what it looked like."

"So..." Nick led.

"After all this we can find him." Alex said.

"But do we have the time...?" Blossom said, hmming uncertainly.

"Dunno, but if we do, we do." Alex said.

"Nkosi first, then Aaron." Nick agreed.

"Or maybe..hes headed towards Bast?" Blossom posited.

"If he wants to help us, fine. If he wants to join Bast, then he's in for trouble." Alex said darkly.

"I meant... Is he one of your group?" Dawn asked.

"Not that I know of." Nick said. Alex shook his head.

"Is this Aaron significant in some way besides being an agent of Fenrir?" Dawn asked.

"No." Alex said. Dawn nodded, and let it go at that.

Blossom went back to the original topic. "So what do we do? Should i make something to help capture Nkosi?" she asked.

“Yeah, that would be prudent," Nick said.

Blossom looked a bit confused for the moment. “That would be a helpful, Blossom,” I translated for her.

"Alright. I shall make something a bit later." Blossom said, with an understanding nod.

"If whoever is giving Blossom information is hinting that this Aaron may be squaring off against Nkosi, it may be time we contact him." Dawn pointed out. Alex shivered a bit at that statement, seeming uncomfortable.

"I could only guess and say its Selene." Blossom said uncertainly.

"Maybe it's just a dream..." Nick shrugged.

"Perhaps a bit of both." Alex said.

"Well, we still need to do something. Maybe find something or someone to draw Nkosi out?" Blossom paused. "I have an idea about that but...I’m not too sure you will like it."

"What?" Nick asked, rubbing his brow.

"Well if i can get close enough to uhm..'talk' with Nkosi then i could give him the potion I’ll make." Blossom offered. I didn’t like the idea of tricking him into being poisoned, but this was their discussion, not mine.

"Problem being is that he is abhorrently violent." Alex noted.

"He won't hurt me." Blossom said, confidently.

Nick shook his head. "I doubt he'll let ya..."

"He did not want to hurt me the first time in fact he refused to and helped us flee." Blossom said.

"Coulda changed in that time." Nick said, then sighed heavily. "So what're we gonna do anyway? We travelin' to Tel Aviv? At least the border?"

Alex shrugged a bit. "I don't like the idea of moving into Bast's territory."

"We might have to, if we can’t get Nkosi to come to us." Blossom pointed out. Alex nodded solemnly.

"Nah going in is a bad idea..." Nick said. "Border is rough."

"You don't want to face someone like that with a group like this inside of his realm... Or any realm, actually." Dawn stated.

"Inside he's the most dangerous." Nick agreed. Quick study.

"So then the real question is how do we draw him out." Nick said, lying back on the grass with a sigh.

"Perhaps with something Bast wants."

"Me." Nick shrugged against the ground. "So...travel arrangements?" he looks to me and Dawn.

"To Beirut? Expensive and difficult." Dawn stated.

"Don't have a ton of time, especially if bad dreams keep popping up." Nick noted.

"This is going to be fun ..." Alex muttered, looking at his wings.

"You need to calm.." Blossom said, looking to Alex.

"I am calm!" Alex snapped back. Nick looked over to him, frowning.

Blossom shook her head. "Sorry...but you seem tense."

"Honestly... The best approach I can reccommend is the 'wait and drum up allies' approach." Dawn said.

"Awesome...how're we gonna go about that?" Nick said sarcastically.

"I know you all want to get moving, but this group... No offense, but it's disjointed and not exactly directed..." Dawn said, trying to keep her cool and mostly succeeding.

"It's hard being relaxed when you’re a complete freak.” Alex moped.

Nick shook his head "I know...I know, the problem is I don't know exactly what to do." he says between Dawn and Alex and stood up.

"You’re not a freak Alex, believe me. I know this most of all." Blossom said.

"What did you just call us?" Dawn said warningly at Alex. I winced unconsciously, putting an arm on her shoulder to try and calm her.

"I didn't call us anything, just myself." Alex shot back. Dawn glared, but didn’t say anything else. "Sorry, sorry. It's just hard ..." Alex slumped.

"I could get you some herbs if you want?" Blossom offered.

I shook my head. "Probably not the best idea, Blossom."

Blossom shrugged. "It’s quite relaxing..."

Nick stood up. "If you guys'll excuse me...waiting seems to be the best idea...I'm gonna go off and think something up." he headed off in a random direction.

"Do you want me to come with?" Blossom asked him.

"No...I'll be fine." Nick said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Blossom sighed and stood up to stretch as Nick walked off.

“Maybe I should go talk with Nick...” Blossom said, and started after him. Alex also wandered off, looking like he was trying to meditate on the edge of the circle.

Dawn shook her head at that and glanced to me. “Nathan, I think we could use a chat at the fortress of private strategic planning."

After a few moments, Nick stopped just beyond the barrier of the circle, turned abruptly around, and headed straight back to me and Dawn, nodding to Blossom as he passed her. I glanced at that and sat there, waiting, looking all business. "With or without Nick?" I asked Dawn. She motioned for me to wait.

"Nick?" Blossom asked. She watched him, and then headed off for the temple area.

"Just a minute." he said to her. He got close to us, in conversational distance again. “Nathan...Dawn...”

"Yes, Nick?" I said.

"What's the best course of action, waiting and hoping to see Selene? Learning more here or doing all that on the way?" He looked between us. "I'm admittedly impatient just...gotta bad feeling."

"I think Dawn and I will need to discuss that. Offhand, I couldn't tell you." I said, trying to be diplomatic.

Dawn cut to the chase. "Nick... These kids... You can't take them fighting."

"I don't wanna take them fighting...just need a tranquilizer." Nick said.

"Like it or not, Nkosi is an accomplished fighter by all indications." I pointed out. "And while it’s true you just need a tranquilizer, that's called gambling on a best case scenario."

"Hire professional questers and keep them somewhere safe." Dawn suggested.

I nodded in agreement. "Professionals would be good, yes."

Nick sighed, not liking that answer. "Where could I get them?"

"Put out a call through R.I." Dawn suggested

Nick nodded slowly. "Okay so what'll I do after that?"

"Wait." Dawn said.

"How long?"

"Until they come back or don't."

Blossom came back at this time, with some plants and flowers wrapped up in a cloth bouquet, and with a chrysanthemum in her right ear. I was again struck by how much this lifestyle...’worked’ for her, for lack of a better term.

Nick looked around at the others, and then back to us. “Alright...” he said reluctantly. “Whatever works...I’ll go put that call in.” He nodded, then started walking off. He patted Blossom on the head once as he went, and then exited the circle.

Afterwards, Blossom took a seat nearby, crossing her legs and closing her eyes, looking like she was going to be meditating. Fair enough, that WAS the purpose of the circle.

I looked to Dawn. “Now, about that chat.” I lowered my voice so that we’d be difficult to hear.

"We can't take them, Nathan. Christ, I've never seen anything like this." Dawn exclaimed.

This wasn’t something I wanted to hear, but I’d kinda known it might be coming. "I know...but what're we supposed to do?"

"Not sure there's much more we /can/ do." Dawn noted.

"Let's see who we can get on the R.I. ad." I said.

Dawn smirked. "Looking to commission Robbie?"

I chuckled a bit. "Heh, probably not the best idea."

Dawn wingshrugged a bit, then smirked. "Come on, Nate. Let's go get some lunch and some alonetime."

That sounded like a good idea to me. "Ok." The two of us headed off going away for lunch. During that time, we decided we’d head outrealm to post the ad and review a few potential candidates, and that we’d leave tomorrow. With just me and Dawn, we’d be able to hit Corinth the same day, and hopefully catch a ship.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_Nick|Meeting Nick]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce_Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Meeting Nick

2013-09-13T11:47:48Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeting Nick}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

After we talked with Dawn, we changed our plans a bit. There was a boat leaving straight from Athens to Lecce the next morning, so we adjusted. I’d go back and touch base with Nick and meet them in Selene’s Grove at the nearest opportunity, since I was by far the slowest. So after yet another boat ride, I arrived in Athens. This one was a lot rougher, since we’d encountered a minor storm on the way. So everyone was more than glad to get off the boat as soon as we landed on the evening of August 5th. It was cloudy, with the sun going down anyways. But it was still nice and hot. Italian summer, and all.

I dragged my pack behind me off the boat when my turn came, looking around, and nearly did a double take when I saw what looked like an anthropomorphic tiger standing there, wearing gloves. I recognized him from the news photos...Nick was HERE? He’d already come down here? How’d he know I was coming back, or had a plan, or...questions to ask. I headed over towards him at the unloading zone, digging in my pocket with my free hand for my identification paperwork. Nick eyed me as I approached.

“Mr. Snider, I wasn’t expecting you,” I said to Nick as I got within conversational range.

“...who’re you?” he asked with a quirk of a brow.

Of course, while I’d seen him in the news, he had never seen me before. "Apologies; I'm Nathan Renfrew." I showed him my documents.

His face lit up in recognition. "Oh, Nathan, been expecting you. Yeah something came up kinda bad so I came to you."

"Ah...ok. Sorry if I took a bit longer than you were expecting." I apologized. I hadn’t expected him to come down here this soon, but he didn’t need to know that.

"Yep, no problem.” He said, not missing a beat. “It alright if we go somewhere safe to talk?"

I shook my head. "That's not an issue, no. So long as you don't mind my gear..."

"No prob...lets just get back to the hotel if that's okay with you..."

"Sure." I hefted my pack and followed him to the hotel in relative silence, since he obviously wanted privacy for this conversation. A bit of an intro about myself, but that was it. No one paid any special attention to us here. Seems Nick’s 15 minutes were mostly over...then again, Lecce isn’t that great of a place to measure your uniqueness. Once we were in the room, I took my pack off and set it down for the moment. I was pretty sure I’d be ok here.

Nick looked over to me. "Anyway, some crazy things have gone down..." He offered a chair and took one himself.

"Ok. What exactly has occurred?" Be diplomatic. I sat down on the offered furniture.

“I got a letter from Tel Aviv..." Nick sighed.

"Bad news, I presume?" I asked, trying to be unflappable.

"They want Alex and Blossom in the city so they can be marked." He sighed. "That seemed suicidal so came here a bit early." This was troubling, if only because of the fact that I’d left them unguarded in Selene’s realm and Bast probably didn’t know they were both marked already. "By now those in England know I'm AWOL, so'll Bast...I just couldn’t...”

"Ok. Well, they’re in Selene’s realm, and they’re both marked...so they’re safe from Bast on the mark level. Just don’t let it slip they’re there and they should be fine till we can make a run out there."

"Anyway...what's up with you? I notice a certain Fox and Stormwing are out still." Nick said, shifting topics without a clutch. I wasn’t really done, though, so I pulled it back.

"Gotta question. I thought Bast let you go; but you said she'll know you're away from England. So she didn't REALLY let you go, did she?" I queried.

"I'm Nkosi...so not really. Plus I worked for the realm, I'm sure she'll know about that."

"Ah, yeah...ok." I could understand that. Let go, but still on a sort of leash.

"Exactly...anyway where are the others?" NIck got back to the point.

"Regarding your friends, they're in Selene's domain at the moment. We decided it would be more time-efficient to split up again." I hoped they’d made it there. DIdn’t wanna be a liar.

"Oh, any news?"

"We went to Athens. And we spoke there. And they said that if the two parts of your 'fractured soul' could be brought there, something MIGHT be arranged." I chose my words carefully, so as not to give any false hope to the guy.

"Awesome. So we have to capture my evil twin." Nick said with a touch of sarcasm.

"That's one way of putting it, yeah."

"Even then if nothing can be done we'll be stuck with a really angry and rather large tiger." he's speaking sarcastically.

"Yeah..."

"Either way it'll have to be tried, to reverse my mistake." Nick said. He paused and sighed. "So what do the gods think of such a predicament?" he seemed sad.

"I didn't speak with them, directly. I don't know, honestly..." I shook my head. "Is something wrong, Nick?"

"I hate to sound like a pessimist but, it's just not looking good and my friends are in trouble because of me. Alex..."

"That's more sounding like a realist, to me." I tried to encourage.

"Yeah, so we hope...I hope." Nick sighed again.

"In any event. We need Nkosi before we can do anything else..."

"Luring him out is going to be a pain, something I haven't figured out quite yet."

"Well, that's our next step. If I may speak freely?"

"Now that, I leave up to you...everyone needs to get together before we go chasing Nkosi." Nick said.

"Getting people together, I can do."

"Depending on how long that takes, I'll figure something out." Nick resolved.

"If I may speak freely?" I repeated.

"Of course, I'm not a oppressor."

“I’m not sure if anyone knows if Blossom and Alex are marked yet. Though I’m loathe to suggest live bait, it may be your only option if you can’t think of something better.”

"Hm Nkosi dragging them in...maybe." he shrugged a bit.

"If they don’t agree, though, we should look for another option."

"That'll be weird, finding another option." Nick said.

"Yeah, well...no choice, really." I noted. Not like we were overflowing with scenarios here.

"Naturally, Nathan do you mind telling me something..." Nick led.

"Ask your question; I can't guarantee an answer, but you'll probably get one." I said as politely as possible. “There’s a lot of stuff I don’t know, so I can’t promise one.”

"What do you think of this whole situation in your experience?" Nick asked me, looking at me curiously.

"Admittedly? It's not like anything I've encountered before." I said.

"Yeah...buncha people pop in from some world getting all mixed up with the gods." Nick sighed.

"Yeah, kinda. Sorry." I apologized.

"It's not your fault, I owe you great thanks for trying to help. Sure you're getting paid but it's still meaningful." Nick said.

"Hey, it's why I signed on. To do exciting things, maybe strike it big in the process." I explained. “This is right up my alley.”

Nick chuckled. "Or might strike something big...anyway should be interesting at the very least." I nodded as he continued. "I'm just hoping everything turns out alright for everyone. Alexei included since he's a Stormwing..."

"Again, my apologies about that." I said, sagging a bit. "If it's any consolation, all future negotiations I perform will occur with all participants well in my line of sight."

"Hey that happens when doing dangerous traveling." Nick shrugged. "Better than what I got myself into."

"To be honest, I would agree with that." I said cautiously.

"No disputing the truth, though I have wondered what was the best course of action based on the situation I've described?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. If I was in that circumstance, I don't know what I would've done. None of the kinda stuff was dealt with in my classes, and so I’d have been in the same boat as you."

"I dunno what I'd do differently either, I've thought about it alot." Nick said. "Well I was marked willingly with my form intact, it was just her wish that I stay with her permanently...had I said no, maybe she would have changed me."

"Yeah...quite a real probability." I sid.

"The little catgirls are creepy, I have to say. Like stuff you'd see out of an anime almost."

"I've never been to the Egyptian Realm, although my training does extend to its environment."

Nick just looked at me."Overall Nathan what're your thoughts if you care to share...given all that's happened."

"Speaking entirely freely, I think you got yourself in a bad situation and you're trying to get out of it now, and doing so may prove to be quite difficult."

"Yep, a buddy of mine asked me why I didn't want to just give up and start a new life." Nick said.

"I would ask that myself, if I didn't empathize with your situation."

"Empathize? Why?" Nick asked curiously.

"I still have nightmares about being forcibly marked and situations sorta like this occurring. Even though I'm vaguely safe, now." I explained.

"You were forcibly marked?" Nick asked incredulously.

"No, no I wasn't." I shook my head.

"Oh, just about what'd happen if you were." Nick realized.

"Yes."

"Yeah being forced into a cat girl form would be awful..." Nick said. I remained silent, not commenting on it. I knew Dawn had had issues. "Kinda like Alexei though...gotta be rough having a god manipulate you like that."

"Yeah...I still feel bad about that." I said.

"Long as he's not a slave he should be fine and it should be reversible."

"Hopefully, yeah." Hope springs eternal. I shook my head a bit. "I don't think I'll be able to help you with that, though."

"I doubt many will, we have a long road ahead of us before that though.”

"Yeah..."

"So, gotta get everyone together capture Nkosi bring him to a goddess...”

"That'd be the Cliff's Notes version, yes." I confirmed.

Nick chuckled. “That's alot to do..."

"Indeed."

"Nice mark by the way." Nick commented

"Oh, you really think so? Thanks." I said. It was nice to have someone actually compliment me on the thing for a change.

"It's artistic, the gods seem to like fancy things...naturally." he said.

"This is Athene's Mark." I explained.

"I like Athene." Nick said, grinning. Not even a hint of sarcasm, either.

"Heh, thanks."

"Seriously everything I've ever heard about her is nice, she's got a good image."

"Well, then that's good." I said.

"Heh understandable, though I really wish I woulda landed in her realm. Bast is awesome but kinda creepy."

"I can say that Athene and Bast are opposed, although there's not really any outright conflict." I explained.

"They just aren't buddy buddy, gotcha."

"Right. Different values." I confirmed. "Although the reason for no conflict is related to the distance, as well as other factors."

"Of course." Nick nodded. "All this traveling is pricy, even the gods don't wanna waste time like that." He paused. "Anywho, based on the traveling we'll be doing what's the best method for staying out of trouble given my race...figured this glove might cover the mark pretty well."

"There's still the ability to sense a Mark. But the glove will work to an extent." I reminded him.

"Yeah."

"In any case, alot of times Marks aren't a huge issue among people, unless it's all-out-war between the two factions."

"Oh, how about when traveling with Nkosi? He's quite...large and semi well known for being in his position."

"That I haven't figured out explicitly." I said with a sigh. "Most likely you'd want restraints and tranquilizers."

"He'll definatly be a pain and attention grabber even restrained."

I nodded. "Well, I don't know."

"Not like we can stuff him in a car trunk. Or ever hope to lure him to Athene’s realm."

"Yeah. I know." I sighed. Did they all like to rehash the obvious a hundred times?

"That'd be convenient though, but no way Bast would send him there."

Keep your patience. "Well, again. Get him out of the Realms..."

"Still gotta get him into a realm eventually just outa Tel Aviv."

"True enough."

"Man we face insane odds, he may just rip us all apart or try..."

"I know." I said meekly. I really didn’t need the reminding.

"That's a good thing though..." he smiled some. What, that I knew? Everyone knew that.

"I'm hoping you are combat-trained?" I said with a mark of hope.

"A little, no what I mean is Nkosi isn't a different man he's me. I can probably think of something to manipulate myself." Nick said with a nod.

I was not encouraged. "'Probably' gets you killed in the Realms." I said.

Nick looked at me, not liking that fact being dropped. "Right...just gotta come up with something definite then."

"That'd be greatly preferred, yes." I said. I changed the subject. "Did you need any equipment to go Realmwalking?"

"Uh. depends what would be needed?" Gods, he was just as bad as the others.

"Non-synthetic clothes, water, rations, general travelling gear, and possibly a weapon or two." I said, masking the tiredness in my voice.

"Yeah I can get some....maybe a dagger or short sword can be bought cheaply."

"We have a place on the campus where you can rent or purchase equipment as needed." I noted.

"Oh awesome, I'll get stuff there." he nods

"Also need a tent and stuff."

"Yeah camping'll be fun." he said.

Sigh. "Well, that's what you do once the sun goes down in the realms."

"Right...no tech after all." he remembered.

"Night movement is dangerous."

"Oh? There's a lot I need to learn." Nick noted.

"It's my job to know this." I smiled slightly, partially to improve my own mood.

"Heh naturally...Though I am curious...why is night movement so dangerous?"

"Because in general, humans are a lot weaker at night, sightwise.” I stated. “Many of the more threatening monsters don't have that disadvantage."

"Monsters as in transformed marked people or...real savage monsters?" Nick asked.

"Both, but more of the latter, generally." I reassured.

"What kinda monsters?" he asked. Naturally.

"Chimerae are some of the more common, but in the greek realm, you can encounter more or less anything from Greek mythology."

"Ah...that's alot. Medusa included?"

"Gorgons exist, yes. And the more powerful ones can petrify you." I paused. "I was on a gorgon hunting expedition once."

Nick shuddered. "Any cure for petrification?"

I nodded. “Yes. Get out of realm before it finishes. Or if you can;t, if there's a survivor and the statue is recoverable, they can usually do something. Of course, I’d advise not testing it out.

"I wouldn't be either." he said.

"Want me to creep you out?" I smirked. Wanted to add some levity to this so we weren’t focusing on the herculean task ahead of us.

"Uh, sure." he shrugged a bit.

"Rumor has it that if you get eaten by all three of a cerebrus's head, you become one."

"All three? So torn to pieces, and...what does it do, give birth to you?" he asked with some shock.

"I think so, yeah. Again, nobody has ever tested it."

"Heh obviously, yeah that's kinda creepy. I'd hate to be a cerebrus." He paused. "Weird how realms pop up and monsters follow...where do the monsters come from?"

"Well, there's obviously those marked, there's the ones that showed up with the deities, and then they reproduce like anything else." I explained.

"Oh geez..."

"There were military incursions into the Realms when they first opened, as well as excursions outside of the Realms at the same time." Nick nodded as I spoke. "And both types failed. The military couldn't do anything inside the Realms without technology, while outside of the Realms, the monsters and servants couldn't stand up against modern weaponry."

"Oh...weird." Nick said.

"Howso?"

"Just understandable how that'd be unexpected." he said. I didn’t really get it, but I nodded anyways. "Yeah...I wonder has anything you've ever expirienced come to par with this?"

"That's an easy question, and the answer is no." I stated.

"Are you up for it?" Nick asked curiously.

"Yeah, I am."

"Good." Nick grinned.

"Thanks. But again, it's my job."

"It'll be a long road." he cautioned.

"Yes, it will..." I affirmed. It wasn’t something I hadn’t thought about.

"Well worth it, if everything turns out well." Nick said, probably more for himself than me.

"Hopefully it will." I couldn’t promise any better. That said, if it went well, I’d have a HELL of a story to tell.

"There's a lot of room for error...you know though... I, to this day, wonder if I could have done something differently."

"That's normal." I tried to assure him.

"Yeah... I guess things might have been worse, trying to run from Bast. Alexei and Sprout would have been captured eventually since Nkosi did save them."

"Well, that's looking on the bright side." Keep him focused.

"That's why I think I'll be able to manipulate Nkosi some, unless he's been brainwashed." Nick said.

Chances: Excellent. "I wouldn't be able to weigh in on that."

Nick nodded, looking like he had nothing else to say. I didn’t either, so after a few moments, I said, "If there's nothing else to discuss, I think I'll head back to my place for the night?"

"Sounds good, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure. If you need me overnight, here’s my number.” I jotted down my number on a piece of hotel stationery. “That's my cell, I have to have it on all the time I'm out of the Realms."

"Alright cool, thanks." Nick said, relaxing a bit.

"I'll stop by tomorrow, then." I wanted to get home and get a shower.

"Tomorrow is cool I might go to the campus and pick up some travelin' gear." Nick said.

"Well, don't do that if you won't be coming with me to Corinth and Selene's." I cautioned.

"I'd like to go if I could, there's nowhere else to go and I'm eager to see those two again." Nick said.

"Ok, then. I'll check the boat schedule tomorrow."

"Ah cool...Hope Sprout's okay, and Alexei...man."

"Again, I'm sorry."

"Hey no problem, my fault more than yours." Nick said.

"If you insist." I said, standing. It’s hard to forgive yourself. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yep have a good night." Nick smiled.

"You as well." I said, then grabbed my stuff and headed out. I went home, got a shower, and collapsed into bed for the night, mentally exhausted.

{{seperator|k}}

The next day, after doing my paperwork at AdminOps, I was back in my room, just kinda relaxing a bit. I’d been on work all the time, and I just needed to get a little bit of a break. I was hoping Robjeet would get back again before I had to leave, because I had stuff I wanted to talk with him about...but the paperwork said that was a tossup at best. Meh. Wished Dawn was here too, but...that wasn’t gonna be happening either.

So I was just mucking about on the computer, wasting time for the moment. I had to wait a few days before a ship could take me back to Corinth, and Alex and Dawn were taking time off in Selene’s grove, so why not? I’d already checked the news.

It was in the middle of this slacking that I got a phone call. It wasn’t a number I recognized. "Hello, Nathan Renfrew."

The same american accent was on the other end that I’d talked with last night. "It's Nick, gonna head to the campus. Wanna come help pick stuff out?" Dude got to the point really fast when you got down to it.

I checked the time. Nothing I had for a few hours. I nodded to myself. "Sure, I can come. Meet you there?"

"Yep." Nick said, and then hung up.

I locked the computer and stood up, sliding my phone back into my pocket. I grabbed my keys, put on a nicer shirt than the T I was wearing, and headed out, locking the door behind me. About 20 minutes later, I met Nick on the campus near the shops. He was standing there, tail flicking as he looked about nervously. I flagged him down with a friendly wave as I approached.

"Heya." Nick said, turning to face me.

"Hello. Doing well today?" I asked, trying to be polite again.

"Yep, just wanna make sure to get the right equipment." his striped tail twitched again. I’ve heard that cats move their tails when deciding something, and this seemed to be the case for Nick.

"Always a good idea." I nodded.

"And you know what you're talking about, too. So let’s get to it...where is the place anyway?" he grinned at me. Dude had a LOT of teeth. Then again, tiger anthro...I led him towards the general equipment shop. Nick followed along. "Need a good weapon too." he noted as we went that direction.

"Well, that'll depend on your training, mainly." I said. "And if I can be so bold to assume how much you have, it's probably not too much."

"Oh, of course, I've had a short sword, though...and don't use it unless absolutely needed." he stated.

"Probably do best with a simpler weapon." I nodded.

"Like what?"

"Shortsword is one. Dagger is another. Crossbow is fairly simple in use, but not so much in maintenance." I elaborated.

"Yeah no crossbow, dagger could work too." Nick said. That narrowed down the list.

"Daggers are popular as backups, too." I noted.

"Could pack two and a shortsword, keep em in a vest or something." he mused.

"That's an option. Although I only carry one, myself."

"One'll work then." he said.

I pushed open the door of the equipment shop and held it for Nick as he entered, careful not to catch his tail. He looked around as he entered. I let the door go. "So...we'll need rations, a backpack, a tent if you want one, bedroll as well, iodine tablets..."

"Heh alright, sounds good." Nick nodded, probably not understanding half of what I said.

"Also, do you want any armor pads?” I asked. “You can't rent those though, I'm afraid."

"Nah, not to gloat, but I took Tae Kwon Do and stuff, not saying I'm an uber martial artist but I value speed and agility also leg work. Don't plan on taking hits if I can get out of the way.” Nick said. Oh lord, another green person.

I decided not to pick a fight since Selene’s grove with one marked wasn’t much of an undertaking. "I understand. Just make sure you don't get hit, then."

"Exactly." he grinned, looking around some.

I headed over towards the rations first. That’s one of the things we’re gonna need immediately. I picked some high energy packs off the shelves and held them out to Nick to look at. Then a thought crossed my mind. "I should check, you are omnivorous, right?"

Nick nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, despite my quadruped brethren."

"What's your daily calorie intake, or do you not know?" I asked.

"Uh yeah dunno." he said. "Just note I don't hunt."

I nodded. "I can hunt if needed, but that slows our travel rate considerably, and some days you won't have dinner. So...let’s err on the side of caution.” I started picking out a mix of rations, checking the info to pair them up, measuring out about 3500 calories a day for Nick.

"Right...heh kinda embarrasing." he said, tail drooping.

"No problem. A lot of people don't know. The rations aren't too heavy, so if we have extra, it won't really slow us down too much."

"No, I mean, given the bod I should be better at hunting. Unfortunately, momma didn't teach that."

"Oh, no problem.” Not my business. "Ok. Then as long as you approve of the rations, we'll go onto the other stuff."

"Heh whatever works." he said, noncommittally.

I put the food in the cart and moved on. I led him next to the backpack section and picked out a good, durable brand that I liked, that wasn’t too expensive. The cheap stuff tears and falls apart; you get what you pay for. "Try this on, if you will?"

Nick nodded, trying on the backpack silently. I checked if it fit, and then let him tighten the straps a bit to make sure it was good. Once we were both satisfied with the fit, I grabbed a few weights from nearby. Since you’ve gotta carry things a long distance in realms, they provide weights for easy checking of the backpacks. Just gotta be careful not to damage them when checking.

"Ok, now I'm going to start putting weights in the backpack, 5 pounds at a time. Tell me when it gets uncomfortable. You’re gonna have to carry this the whole time we’re moving, so lean towards the lighter end of uncomfortable.” I waited for a sign of understanding and approval.

"Go ahead."

I nodded, and started putting in weights. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty...I watched his reactions as I added each weight. I could tell he was starting to feel it when I got to thirty, but he didn’t say anything so I added another five pounds, and then when I got to forty, he stopped me.

“Ok, that’s getting too heavy.” he said.

I pulled out the last ten pounds, and let him move about in the pack a bit. "You sure you'll be able to carry that all day?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

I nodded, then started removing and re-stacking the weights on their holders. "Ok, then we'll make sure we don't give you more than that."

"Kay." he said, taking off the pack. I put it in the cart.

"Now, for a tent..." I led him over to that area afterwards.

"Yeah." Nick followed along.

I picked out a fairly basic, but good, solid model for him to use. Not the best you’ll ever see, but it’d work for what we intended to do. It was used, but everything they put on shelf used is recertified before it goes out for sale. Good way to save money. I would’ve used the one Alex and Blossom had used, but I’d already turned that back in. Hell, if I was picking a two person tent, I could’ve maybe ended up with the same one.

"Anywho...this is all why I need your help." he said as I did so.

"Then we'll need the iodine tablets...a few other things..." I said, leading him around the store to get those. I prefer iodine tablets to water purifiers. I’m not a fan on the taste, but its nice and simple, and there’s really not much of a way to screw it up. A few tablets in two gallons and you’re good to go, and the water can stay cold. Purifiers break, and boiling water works, but then it’s not cold anymore.

"Alrighty." Nick said, after we went and got those and were waiting in line at the front.

"So...short sword and dagger left? When to we get those?” Nick asked me, noting their absence.

"After we get this, we'll head down to the armory." I explained. "That's a seperate shop, so we need to conclude business here, first."

"Oh okay." Nick nodded. We got up to the register, and I let Nick conclude the transaction, making sure to punch in my code as a ‘walker so he got a discount for hiring a guide.

Next, I grabbed the bags after we were done and led Nick over towards the armory. He carried some of the weight, but I was the bigger guy here, so I carried it for now. Wasn’t really that much, to be honest.

"This should be quick." Nick said cheerfully.

"Not always as fast as you'd think.”, I cautioned. “Although armor is what takes longest. If you're getting anything other than a set of pads, it generally needs to be fitted for maximum effectiveness."

"Don't really need heavy armour, maybe some bangles...or light gauntlets instead of the gloves." Nick said. None of that’d take long, but I haven’t ever seen anyone use bangles as armor.

"Just noting, man."

"Yep, I agree." Nick said.

"Gauntlets might work, if you want them." I said as we arrived, pushing open the door and entering.

"Something light..." Nick said. He looked around at all the weapons. Course, they’re all in cases, you can’t exactly pick one up and go. “Geez...should have a small blades section somewhere, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, they do. You still have that shortsword, or will you need one?”

"I lost it a long while ago." Nick said.

I didn’t ask for details. "Ah, ok. Then you'll need one." I flagged down an armorer as we headed over towards the counter. "Daggers aren't a problem, but we need to test the weight on the sword, too. Make sure you're comfortable with it."

"Right."

I set the bags down on the floor as we got to the counter. I asked the armorer to get out a few test blades of different lengths and weights for someone of Nick’s size. He returned a few moments later with a few test blades to try out, setting them down on the counter.

“The test blades are all dulled, so feel free to swing them around a bit.” I told Nick.

Nick took them all in turn, trying them out. He had a bit more experience with a blade than I expected, based on his handling, but still nothing amazing. I was better than him with a sword, but not really by that much.

"Remember, if we get in a fight, your life will depend on your ability to use this effectively. So make sure you're comfortable with it now."

"Right." Nick nodded. He took his time, not saying much, but eventually he found a model he was comfortable with. “This one.”

I nodded to the armorer. He opened the main case and got out a (packaged!) sword of that model. He nodded with approval at this size, saying it’d work well for someone of Nick’s stature.

"That should work well." Nick agreed.

"Ok. And dagger...well, that's easy. How big you want it?"

"Not huge, few inches...something standard." Nick said.

I nodded, and asked the armorer to get him a six inch dagger. After he brought it back, Nick looked it over. "Awesome, this'll be good for random tasks too."

"Yeah, it will." I agreed.

"All set?" Nick said.

"That looks like it, yeah." I nodded.

Nick nodded and paid for the weapons, and then we went to leave the store. "Need help getting the stuff back to the hotel?" I asked him as we exited.

"Yeah if you would." Nick said.

"Sure." I nodded. I started back to the hotel he’d been at, glad to at least get some exercise. These shoes weren’t as good as my realm boots, though. We walked mostly in silence, arriving at the hotel room in short order. Nick swiped the keycard and then we entered, putting the stuff in a corner for now.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Nope.”

"Ok, then call me again if you need me...Gonna head out, then."

"You can hang out if you want otherwise, catch you tomorrow."

"Nah, I gotta catch up on a few things. Thanks for the offer, though." I said, sincerely.

"Okay, see ya. Thanks for helping shop." Nick said to me.

"No problem. Bye." I exited the room, closing the door behind me.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning_Athene|Petitioning Athene]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back_to_the_Grove|Back to the Grove]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Petitioning Athene

2013-09-13T11:46:51Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petitioning Athene}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

After another uneventful boat trip, I got back to Corinth on the 28th. No one was waiting for me at the dock, so I proceeded to the inn I’d left the other two at. I was doing ok, and I had all the equipment rebalanced and reset so that I’d be able to easily carry it. Since I was the only one left able to. Once I got there, I knocked on the door. I heard some movement and shuffling around inside, and after a moment, I heard some fumbling with the doorknob. A moment after that, the door opened, with Alex standing there.

"Hello, Alex." I said, looking down at him slightly.

Alex smiled weakly. "Heyo Nate, any luck?" He moved out of the way of Nathan to let me in. I stepped inside of the room, and wasted no time getting my pack off. Sucker was heavy, and I’d spend plenty of other days carrying it.

"I did have some luck, yes." I affirmed, once I had my stuff off. Dawn was visible on a blob-like object that served as an anthro-friendly couch in places like this. Really, it’s just a fancy bean-bag chair. "There was no news, but I did manage to contact Nick."

"And?" Alex asked.

"He's upset about what happened to you, he's going to try and work on a lure for Nkosi, and gave me more details on the exact events. We'll contact him again after we get back." I said.

Alex followed me over after closing the door. "Good. Well, not good, but good good."

I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by that, but nodded reassuringly as I found a chair for myself.

"Hope you don't mind, Lex, but I highly intend to highjack Nate for some personal aspects of this trip to Athens.” Dawn stated.

Alex nodded. "Ah, okay. I'll just head out for a bit then?" He turned back to the door.

"We're not in Athens yet,” Dawn noted.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you meant you were going to discuss stuff about it..." Alex said, as he came back into the main area.

I shook my head. "No, we were planning a small vacation to Athens even before you came."

"No problem." Alex nodded.

"So don't be offended when we get you your own room." Dawn paused. "Probably one with less fabric in it."

That was a good idea. I’d gotten the third degree from the management when I tried to check in a stormwing. They’d forbidden Alex from using any furniture that wasn’t metal or stone, and I’d had to sign the damage liability forms in triple.

"I'm not very cuddly, no." Alex said.

"When are we going, Nate?” Dawn asked. “I've been making good progress here, I wouldn't mind another day or two to see if I can get Lexi here into travel-grade flight." Alex looked a bit pained at the statement, but said nothing.

"Well, if you think you can do that, it wouldn't hurt. He's definitely faster above than on the ground, although it'll be a bit lonely on the roads, I guess." I joked a bit. I understood if they both wanted to fly. Save us time, though I wasn’t used to being the slow one in a group. "Have enough supplies for one way of the trip, and we can restock at Athens."

Alex sighed loudly. "Let's just get it over with as fast as we can."

"Alex, you're doing great, don't get disheartened now." Dawn encouraged.

"Dawn's idea may be the fastest, actually." I pointed out. "It'll mean that the slowest person in the group is me."

"That I'm doing great doesn't mean that I like it any more." Alex grumped.

"I know, kiddo, but it was months before I got to where you're at." Dawn noted.

"Yeah, but you had it much harder." Alex said.

"In some ways yes... But in some ways no." Dawn said. I just listened, I couldn’t really add to this conversation.

"Howso?" Alex asked.

"Well, I wasn't pointy on 99 percent of my body, for one." Dawn paused. "That, and I'm a chick, so everyone's inclined to help." Boy, that second bit sounded familiar.

Alex smiled painfully. "Yeah..."

"Either way, you're doing alright for yourself." Dawn reassured him.

Alex nodded, then changed the subject. "Okay, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, next day?" Dawn queried.

"Either works. It's really your call. I'd say though, that if we can get you travel-flight capable, we'll make better time." I analyzed. "If I'm the one holding you two back, we can probably make close to 20 miles a day, if not more."

"Why don't you go tomorrow Nate, and then we'll catch up?" Dawn suggested.

"You think you can make it?” I asked. “Not doubting you, just making sure.”

Alex eyed Dawn.

"It's a two-hour flight for me, Nate." Dawn pointed out.

"Point taken."

"And me?" Alex asked.

"You’ll go with Dawn.” I explained. I turned back to her. “Since I'll be alone, I'll be doing the stealth thing at night...if we don't meet on the trails, I'll meet you at the Achilion Hotel."

Dawn nodded. "Perfect. But you know that right between two major cities, there's enough traffic that you can tag with a caravan."

"That works, so long as they move fast enough." I said. "Then I guess that's settled."

Alex yawned and unfolded his wings slightly, stretching them carefully.

"We'll give you some time to catch up with your priests, and meet you there on the afternoon of the 31st." Dawn said.

"You'll meet me in the hotel, then? Gotcha."

"That should work well.”

"Alright."

Alex looked to Dawn. "What now?"

"Now we go to bed, and you play with the Stupid Knot." Dawn replied.

Alex sighed and headed off to practice with the rope some more.

"I'll need to get to bed, yeah, in order to leave tomorrow morning." I said. I headed for the bed, and I was out before long.

{{seperator|k}}

A few days later, we had all arrived in Athens. I’d spent the day before catching up with a few priests and debriefing on some of my recent activities. Just a general courtesy for the devouts, and I made sure I was staying on the right path. Then in the evening, I got everyone situated in our new hotel room in Athens, and prepped up for the meeting today. Got Alex a shower and everything, which was a bit difficult, as stormwings are hydrophobic, but we managed it eventually.

So now it was about 10 in the morning the next day, and I was leading Alex towards the temple I’d been checking in at yesterday. Athene has many temples inside Athens; in fact, most other gods aren’t allowed to have temples inside the city limits at all. Forcemarking in Athens is verboten, and Stormwings aren’t looked highly upon, so I had to do a bit of fast talking to keep Alex out of trouble. I’d chosen a temple that was out of the way, so we wouldn’t run into tourists or such coming through the place.

Alex fidgeted nervously as we approached the temple.

"Relax a bit, man. The clergy won't hurt you." I advised.

"I dunno ... I don't have the confidence Blossom has ..."

"Well, all I can suggest is to do your best."

Alex nodded. "Yeah ..." He sighed. "The fact that I'm /this/ isn't going to help ..."

I wasn’t pulling any punches at this point. "Unfortunately no, it isn't.

He sighed again. "Well, let's do it. The worst thing that can happen is eternal torture ..."

"I doubt that, personally." I said reassuringly.

"Hmm? It's worse?" Alex smiled very faintly.

I shook my head. "No. I don't think you'll be eternally tortured."

Alex nodded.

At this point we were standing on the front steps of the temple. I looked up the steps, then to Alex. "Any other questions before we head inside?"

"A two week crash-course on petitioning would be nice, but we don't have time for that..."

"No, unfortunately not. And I wouldn't be able to instruct either."

"I'll just ask nicely then." Alex nodded with resolve.

And so, I led him up the steps of the temple. The inside was like you’d expect from any place of worship. Clean, well maintained, and orderly. Lots of white, around. There were some individuals around, praying at the altars. There was even a group discussing with one of the priests in Hellenic. Still have to learn that. But it was overall pretty quiet, and reverent.

As Alex stepped in, a few of his feathers scraped along the floor, making some noise. A few people looked up and over to the noise, and then glared as soon as they saw what he was. I tried to motion he was with me, but I don’t really think that bought him much credit. Alex looked incredibly nervous and just stayed close to me, feathers puffed up a bit. After a moment, one of the priests stepped up to me. I recognized him; he was the resident English-speaker at this temple.

“Nathan, welcome back,” he said. He spread his arms in a greeting, his plain white tunic and kilt spreading a bit as he did so. The material was a bit thicker than a lot of the priest robes I’m used to seeing, but I think Kossus liked it that way. Really, it just looked like a heavy robe...which was probably the intention.

I nodded back. “Thank you,” What was his name? Oh yeah. “Kossus.” I stepped over in his direction, making sure Alex was following me closely.

"I'm to presume there is an interesting story to tell today." he said with slight amusement.

"Your presumption would be correct, yes." I agreed. Alex glanced around nervously.

"Private?" he asked me.

I nodded. "That would probably be a good idea."

Kossus glanced around. "Ah, nobody here speaks the Outside Tongue, anyways... But as you wish." He turned and made the local equivalent of the 'follow' gesture as he headed for one of the side rooms. I followed along, and motioned for Alex to follow me as well. He did, but remained silent as a tomb, eyes darting around in fear.

Kossus led us into a small, simple room, that was set up in a way similar to a sauna, although there were no hot rocks and it was generally a pleasant temperature inside. He had a seat on the ledge against the wall, and turned to look at us both. "My attention is yours, sons of Athene and Typhon."

Alex made a face at the last name, then looked to me. I guess he wanted me to lead on this...I took a seat facing Kossus, and took a deep breath, and then began.

"This is Alex, one of my current clients. He wishes to petition Athene...please ignore his form, that's somewhat my fault." I said.

"It's a difficult form to ignore." Kossus remarked, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, for me too." Alex said, with a pained look on his face.

"I understand. I have a nephew by my older brother who was made a merfolk." Kossus said. "I can well appreciate the challenges you face."

"Thanks." Alex said, falling silent.

"What is it that you gentlemen wish to ask?" Kossus asked, after a moment or three.

I looked to Alex. "Go ahead, Alex.” I encouraged. “Preferably from the beginning."

Alex nodded and swallowed, then began. "Umm ... well, I'm not of this world."

That wasn’t the beginning I had in mind, but it was too late now.

Kossus held up his hands. "The question first, and then the story." He had the same mark on his right hand that I did, and Alex eyed it slightly. I glanced to Alex, and we both just waited for him to continue.

"... oh ... err, well. A friend of mine ran into a bit of trouble with Bast, and we were hoping that you could help out."

Kossus looked at me. His look was hidden from Alex, but it was clearly readable. 'Please tell me you didn't come all the way for this.' I returned it with an ‘unfortunately, I did’ look, again hoping Alex didn’t notice. Fortunately, he seemed way too nervous to have noticed.

"It's about Nkosi...." Alex stammered out.

Kossus looked to Alex. “Go ahead, I'll not interrupt."

"My friend Nick and Nkosi are basically the same person, just Bast split him into two people and turned one into Nkosi. I didn't even recognize him when I met him." Alex explained. He took a breath while Kossus waited. "We were hoping to ask if Athene could get him back into one piece."

"Unfortunately, Alex, our concerns are closer to home. As interesting as it would be to deprive her of Nkosi, what transpires in Egypt is really beyond our reach." Kossus explained. Alexei sagged visibly in disappointment at that answer, but nodded. "Our duty has to be to our homeland. Starting a war would not go well for us."

Even I nodded slightly at that, partially against my will. I knew he was speaking the truth though.

"If some brave mortals acting of their own free will happened to bring a fractured soul here, however... Something might be arranged, but we cannot actively send our devout there." Kossus stated.

Alex nodded. “Okay.”

"The gods can only help those who help themselves, Alex." Kossus stated.

"Okay, thanks." Alex said. Kossus headbowed in response.

I held up my hand. "I have a few questions if you have a moment, Kossus. Alex, I'll meet you outside."

Kossus nodded. "Of course."

Alex nodded. "Okay." He headed for the door and left.

I waited for Alex to leave, and once I heard the door click shut again, I spoke. "I wanted to check, mainly, if there was any issue if I continued to accompany him. I am fully aware of what he intends to do, and I do not wish to cause problems."

"What you do of your own volition, Nathan, has always been for your own self to decide." Kossus stated. "However, if you are caught somewhere you are not supposed to be, there will be very little we can do to help you."

"I understand that." I nodded. I weighed options in my head for a moment, debating if I had another question to ask. Eventually I decided no, and said, "Thank you for your time, Kossus. I apologize to have disturbed you."

The man chuckled. "I have dealt with far worse, Nathan. Athene grace your blade."

"And she assist you as well." I said as I stood and exited. I picked up Alex waiting outside the door and then left the temple, with Alex following me out.

After we got outside, Alex looked to me. "Damn, I fucked up, didn't I?"

I looked back, shaking my head. "You did your best, Alex."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"I can still come with you if you desire." I said.

"Hmm?" Then he got it. "Well, I guess so."

"Then we'll need to take care of shopping and such for the trip back to Selene's realm."

"Okay. ... how much do I need to pay you?" Alex asked with a wince.

I told him a rough estimate on how much it’d cost. It wasn’t the cheapest I could’ve done, but it was cheaper than anyone else would give him. “I can pretty much guarantee you that there's noone else willing to take that price."

Alex nodded. "Just take it from my money."

"If you're sure. We should work out the plan from here..."

"Okay, what do you have in mind?"

"We go to Selene's realm from here, pick up Blossom, then return to Corinth and then Lecci, contact your friend, and get him down here."

"Okay."

"And then we can figure out from there."

"Yep. We'll have to figure out to get our hands on Nkosi."

I nodded at that. “You head back to the hotel. I’ll meet you guys there in a few hours, ok?”

“Sure thing.” Alex nodded, and we split up as I went to restock supplies.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_Nick|Meeting Nick]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Explanations

2013-09-13T11:45:18Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Explanations}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was a few days later. After arriving in Corinth and making sure Dawn and Alex were situated, we’d split up and I’d boarded a ship back to Lecce. It’d been an uneventful ride in general and I’d just spent the time socializing, and doing a few odd jobs around the ship for extra cash, since I was on my own now.

Once I got back into Lecce, I made a few stops. One to return a bunch of Alex’s gear, one to check in at Adminops to ensure I was on the level with what I was doing, and they knew I wasn’t AWOL or dead. Robjeet was out in the realms, so I had the flat to myself.

After a generous shower, I situated myself in front of my terminal, turning it on and getting it booted up to a few things I might need. I wanted to check the news, but more importantly, I needed to make sure I had info available for Nick Snider when I called him, as I’d been tasked to do. After I got that all set, I took out my cell phone, took a deep breath, and dialed up the number Alex had given me. It’d be about 4PM there, towards the end of the workday. Good time to catch him, I hoped.

After a few moments and rings, the phone was picked up. I heard what sounded like an American on the other end of the line. “Hello. This is the Tel Aviv ambassador station in the United Kingdom. Nick speaking.”

I paused. Sounded right, but I wanted to make absolutely sure. "Hello. Am I addressing Mr. Nick Snider, Bast representative to the United Kingdom?"

"Yes, you do." came the confirmation.

"Ok, good. My name is Nathan Renfrew; I'm calling on behalf of Alex Iosif and Blossom. I'm a Realmwalker stationed in Lecce." There was no need to be rude or anything, so I gave all my info up front.

"Oh awesome, I looked you up and gave your info to Blossom before she started her journey. Glad to be able to talk with you." Nick said.

"I as well. Do you have anything of dire urgency you are currently doing? If so, you may want to finish that first, because I may take some time."

"I'm fine here." he assured.

Well, I guess he must have some privacy for his work. "Excellent. Do you have any questions for me, otherwise, I've got some for you."

"I do but you can go ahead first, to be fair."

Oh lord. We were trying to out-polite each other. "I would greatly prefer if we got any initial questions you had out of the way first."

"All I'd like to know is how things progressed, because if you're calling me that means you've been there done that. How're Blossom and Alex?" Nick asked.

Great. The question I didn’t entirely want to answer. "Blossom has stayed behind in Selene's realm in order to learn to become a warden and to hear news; Alex is currently in Corinth in the care of a good friend."

"You came back alone?" he sounded disapproving. "Don't tell me Blossom plans on staying there..."

"I can't honestly say at this point. Current plans after I am done in Lecce are to proceed to Athens, then return to Corinth and Blossom."

"Ouch, what's Alex doing in Corinth?"

I took a breath, and went with the full truth. "Alex was forcemarked on the trip back, my friend is helping him adjust."

"Marked by who?" came the reply.

"Forcibly marked by Typhon. I do not wish to sound condescending, but you are aware of the ramifications of a forcible Marking?" I knew he probably wasn’t fully with the program here either, being supposedly another pocket realmie.

"No, not fully." came the uncertain reply.

"As a general rule, if they have to drag you in, they're going to alter your form as well as just Mark you. As a way of keeping you in the Realms."

"What is he?" Nick asked, getting to the point.

"He's a Stormwing."

"Stormwing?"

"You know what a harpy looks like? Take that to human size, of either gender, with metal feathers as sharp as razor blades."

"Ah...so he needs to be rescued?"

I shook my head instinctively. "No, he does not require rescue."

"Oh?"

"He was freely allowed to go." I explained. "As said, I left him with a good friend in Corinth to help him adjust."

"As a storm wing though...geez..."

"You have my utmost apologies." I said sincerely.

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have to send friends to find solutions to my problems." I heard a sigh from the other end of the line.

"This news was, actually, what I called about."

"Ah not just to chat with lil' ol me, eh?" came a slightly sarcastic, if good spirited, response.

"Unfortunately not, no. The next stop on our list is a petitioning of Athene, and I wanted to know the exact specifics of the situation before I went ahead. So, if you will allow me, I'll give you a brief rundown of what I know."

"Alright go ahead."

"You arrived from a pocket realm, and in some way got mixed up with Bast. You chose to be Marked, which somehow gave rise to some sort of evil twin by the name of Nkosi."

"That's the extremely simple way of putting it." came an affirmation.

"Unfortunately, that's all I've been given." I said. "I can't force you to do anything, but...any information would improve the chances of a successful petitioning."

"Oh yeah no prob, I'll tell you everything. Especially since it sounds like we'll need to ask Athene..." Nick responded.

"Oh, why?”

"Because I want to help, and things for me have been terrible lately. Anyway I'm trusting you fully here so you know...especially with what I'm about to say. It's a semi long story but here goes..." He said, answering a different question.

“Alright.” I listened, prepping to take notes like I was back in school.

"I arrived here in the same manner Blossom and Alex did. I even landed in the sea. Once I'd dragged myself out of the water I headed for a city I saw which happened to be Tel Aviv." Nick monologued. "I didn't speak any Egyptian so I was really confused up to the point a Sphinx landed in front of me, demanding to know who I was loyal to. I said no one, I just stumbled upon the city...so she demanded I go with her to a tower. After showing force I reluctantly agreed."

I winced audibly, but Nick continued unabated.

"We flew up to Bast's tower, where I waited a bit but some Nekos took me in due time to meet Bast herself. She marked my paw and we talked...a lot." He paused for breath. "Spent like three days together talking about stuff, and eventually she asked me if I would stay with her forever. I told her I had problems with that because I am a newlywed at home."

“I can empathize with that,” I said, looking up “Neko” on the computer. The entry for Basthept came up, but I could see the reason for the nickname. Little girls with cat ears and tail...that’s pretty much exactly what they are, and it’s a favored forcemark of Bast.

"She said she had a remedy to that problem, and offered me the solution. At the time I agreed, because... well, what do you say to a powerful goddess who wants you, and you're looking at her face. I thought saying no was suicide, shrugged and went along with it."

“With a mark to her, it probably would have been.” I interrupted. Wasn’t completely sure on this, but even a brief perusal of documents showed that Bast wasn’t known for her...understanding.

"She pricked her paw and told me to lick the blood, I did so and felt this /amazing/ pain. When it was over...Nkosi and I looked at each other. Identical twins sitting next to each other. The biggest difference is the fact I wear my wedding ring." I kept typing notes down furiously as Nick talked. "I was dismissed and walked down the forty or so flights of stairs, where Bast later flew down with a Sphinx and talked about my future. I didn't know where to go or what to do, she recommended I come here to England and I jumped at that opportunity. Figured networking here and the databases would help me find Laurie...she's had Nkosi since. He's obviously changed his name and attitude." I assumed Laurie was his wife. "It was a short time here before I was getting weird gifts as well, when I knew he was changing for the worse. He'd sent me the skull and some bits from a snake man with a letter detailing how he executed him, same thing with a Sphinx in a box later. Incredibly gory descriptions."

I dropped the phone in shock. That was barbaric! I picked it up quickly since it’d only fallen to the desk. "Sorry about that..."

"Uh...yeah anyway, it's only now I fear just what happened that day. Would I do what Nkosi's done in his position, are we just physical copies and most important...what about my soul? Am I soulless because I really doubt Bast would let a soul go...or did she halve it? I dunno, I'm afraid of the answer and I just want to re-fuse with him and try to go home..."

"I can see where you have those questions..." I said, sympathetically.

"So you see my problem? I'm not an evil person, I don't wanna destroy Bast or Tel Aviv...I'm simply lamenting my wife and what I had. I want to be whole and go home to her. I like this world a lot I really do despite the dangers just...I can't leave Nkosi here when he's doing such things."

"I don't blame you. At all. You got caught in, from what I can tell, a bad position."

"Yeah I mean I appreciated Bast's kindness too. It sucked...suddenly you're homeless, exploring a strange world. She took me in, fed me, protected me from the desert, because tigers are jungle cats and fur plus desert equals death...very soon."

I nodded instinctively. "I'm sure. I haven't operated in the Egyptian Realm as yet, but my training has covered some of the hazards."

"Yeah...see I feel really bad right now for putting Blossom and Alex in danger...especially for Alex, hopefully Blossom's still a vixen. I mean it's just my luck too. A few days before I'm set to leave with those two I was at a bar with a friend of mine and some drunk guy beans me in the back of the head with a glass. Doctors orders to stay out of it for a bit and...well they went instead of me." Nick sighed a bit with remorse.

"Blossom has chosen to be Marked by Selene, and so will remain safe from such occurrences." I reassured him.

"That's good, did Selene say anything?"

"I didn't speak to Selene directly. Nor to her representatives. What I do know is that Selene said she can give information to Blossom."

"That's good, very gracious of Selene to do so."

I didn’t comment on that. "As for actually curing...Selene's representative said that in order to even have a chance at doing anything, they would require both you and Nkosi." I paused. "I'm fairly certain that Athene will say the same thing."

"Of course which I'll get to planning that after all the info's been gathered."

"There are a few advantages. And I've had a few ideas myself."

"Oh? I'd be curious to hear them just because I've been here sweating it for a week with those two gone." Nick said, sounding curious.

"I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't willing to share." I said.

"Cool."

"Nkosi is, by your stories and some other mentionings, quite, quite powerful. However, he's also shown that he's willing to leave the Realms on occasion; this is uncommon, because he is greatly weakened while outside the Realms." I explained.

"Probably his naivety...he did something strange a while back. He "exiled" Blossom and Alex from Tel Aviv personally. Which why he didn't take them in I dunno, but he sent them directly to me...so I don't think he's all evil yet."

I made note to ask Alex about that. Could be a trap? "That's a possible useful bit of data. In any case...outside of the realms, he's deprived of several benefits, and can be subdued with more modern methods."

"Ah, of course." Nick said in agreement.

"So that would be a productive line of thought; how to enact the luring."

"Something hard to figure out, might have to go with myself...he's made it clear he doesn't want me around Tel Aviv ever again." Nick said resignedly. "Overall I don't know yet, something'll have to be figured out. Anything you'd care to share?"

"That's about all I had at the moment. I have a two day boat ride back to Corinth in the next few days, then the trips to and from Athens, and back to Lecci."

"Ah, any idea if/when everyone can come to England or will I need to plan a trip?"

I certainly wouldn’t be headed to England in the near future. Probably not Alex, either. Be diplomatic. "No idea at the moment. Although...given what happened to Alex, it would likely be a wiser course of action for you to plan a trip."

"Where?" Nick asked.

"Lecce is where we're basing our operations out of at the moment. I'll call you again when I get back."

"Alright...thanks, Nathan. I really appreciate this a lot."

No skin off my back to work, really. "It's my job. Did you have any questions for me?"

"Not really, quite honestly I'm still worried but feeling better...though I owe Alex a lot, maybe someone can transform him back later...*sigh*."

Probably not. Hope springs eternal. "Is there any more information you could possibly give me at the moment, regarding Nkosi's movements or somesuch?"

"I know nothing of his movements, he's been doing whatever in Tel Aviv for a while. He hasn't sent me any letters or packages so that's good, could be bad." Nick said.

Well, not like that was my primary concern at the moment anyways. "Alright. I'll be in Lecci until tomorrow, you can reach me by email at the following address.” I gave him my contact info. “After that, I'll be Realmwalking again, and I'll call you when I return; hopefully with both your friends. If there is nothing else you have to say...?"

"Nah that's it...for now. I'll keep in touch, thanks for calling me. I wish you luck Nathan, thanks a ton." he said.

"Again, it is not a problem. Until later."

"See ya." Nick said, and then I hung up.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds_of_a_Feather|Birds of a Feather]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning_Athene|Petitioning Athene]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Birds of a Feather

2013-09-13T11:43:09Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birds of a Feather}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The next day, we all got up early and made our way out of the grove, heading back to Corinth. The morning was uneventful, though we made better time now, because Blossom had been the shortest, and thus slowest, of us four. Now it was just Alex, so we had less trouble The morning was mostly uneventful; me and Alex walking along, with Dawn flying ahead at low altitude, doing spotting duties. Nothing too big. Minor hazards, distant stormwings. A part of me was hoping against hope that the stormwings would miss us coming back and I wouldn’t get shaken down for the other 500 Euros. It’s not reneging on a deal if the other person never shows up to claim it.

About 2PM, Dawn landed up ahead a ways to rest. Alex was slowing down a bit, and stumbling as his legs finally got their displeasure known through the endorphins, so I figured we should take a break soon. We hadn’t been talking much since lunch, but Alex finally broke the silence.

"All this walking makes you truly appreciate cars," he said.

"You get used to it, man." I said. "I keep to a gym regimen when I'm off duty, just so I'm always in top shape."

"And now I know why. My legs are sending me death threats." he joked.

I evaluated that a bit. "We may want to take a break soon, then. Just to keep you from collapsing. Need you tomorrow to finish the trip...after that it’s a boat ride and we can all relax."

Alex glanced around nervously. "Hmm, maybe, I'm okay for now."

"Ok, then. We'll keep going. Just stay hydrated and keep working." If he was alright with it, we’d cover more ground with less breaks.

Alex nodded. "Will do." He took a drink of water.

When I turned back to the road, Dawn was barreling towards us at high speed. She was in yelling range faster than I’d ever seen her, calling out “BEHIND!” I whipped around to see two stormwings approaching us, already swooping in for a landing. Damn! I should’ve been checking behind us more often! I grabbed my crossbow off my pack and readied it, yanking back the lever so that it drew a bolt out of the mag, and priming it to fire with a satisfying CHLUNK.

"Oh shit!" Alex yelled as he realized the situation. He jumped a bit, and promptly started hiding behind me.

As they approached, I could see that it was the same pair as previously. I relaxed a bit. I’d already measured out the money in a pouch, so this should all go pretty smoothly. I didn’t reach for it yet, though, because I had my hands on the crossbow. Dawn landed on one of the interspersed trees nearby to watch, and the two stormwings flared their wings, scattering sunlight everywhere as they landed, one to either side of me.

The male nodded towards me as he stood back up. “G’day.”

“Good afternoon,” I replied evenly, lowering the crossbow towards the ground. Alex stayed silent behind me. "You want the other half of your payment?"

"Huh... Looks like you lost yer little gal. Wasn't nothin' nasty, I'm hopin?" the male observed.

I shook my head. "No. Nothing nasty."

"Good thing. I'd hate to think I hadn't kept up my end of the bargain, eh?" he stated.

"Your end of the bargain has been maintained thus far, yes." I agreed.

I heard some Hellenic from the female stormwing to the male, although I couldn’t understand it, and then a chuckle.

The male smirked back at his partner, then looked to me. "Well, we're expandin' the offer just a little bit, y'see. We didn't know till t'day that you'd brought us some VIPs, yeah? Shoulda maybe clued in from the foxie, but yeh, I'mma bit of a doof that way. Was thinkin we might be of a bit more help to ya."

More Hellenic. I really need to learn to speak it. I kept an eye on the stormwing male, quirking a brow and waiting for him to continue.

The male made a placating wing gesture at his partner. Then he looked back to me. "So y'see, I think it'd be terribly rude of me to withhold my rapid transportation services to the local sights before we see ya off, yeah?"

"Oh, fuck." Alex said from behind me, groaning.

I looked at Alex for just a second, seeing him start his change as he collapsed to the ground. Fuck. "You wish to...offer us a sightseeing tour?" I asked, slightly incredulously.

Some Hellenic came from behind me again. The male stormwing stepped in a little bit closer, knife-wings flashing in the light again. "Sounds like fun, yeah?" Then he responded to the female. I didn’t like this one bit, but I was two to one against razor blade factories.

Alex was breathing heavily. I needed to get us out of this situation, and talking was the only realistic option here.“I don’t think we’re interested. That would be Alex’s call, and he’s indisposed.”

"No! ... thanks..." Alex shouted, between some ragged breaths.

"Just take your money and go,” Dawn advised. “You're going to run out of 'customers' to extort if you keep coming on this strong."

And that’s when all hell broke loose. I heard movement from behind me. I swung around to the behind and saw the female stormwing moving rushing in to grab Alex. I lifted my crossbow to fire, and heard swishing noise, a TWANG, and felt pain on my left hand. The crossbow clicked, but no bolt ejected, the string hanging limp on either side. The male stormwing’s wing retracted, the job done. Fuck fuck fuck...Dawn was on a strike-dive towards the male stormwing. She’d get shredded against him!

I had bigger worries. The female stormwing had gotten a hold of Alex’s clothing and body and wrapped her talons around him, and now was flapping to take off. She was coming towards us, those razor feathers flapping on the downstroke. I dropped the crossbow and hit the dirt to avoid getting lacerated. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any other options. She took off and started to wheel away, gaining altitude and starting to leave. Alex was flailing, but he couldn’t do anything easily.

Dawn got a good clawing in on the stormwing’s face, but had to jump back when he tried to bring his wings up to block her off. He took a step back as I got to my feet, instinctively drawing the knife from my left boot, trying to ignore the pain on my left hand for now. Blood on my hand, and I’d just hit the ground. Dirt in the wound. Have to clean it. Why was I thinking of this?

"Whoa now! She misunderstood! Let's calm down!" the male shouted. "You don't want to fight me, walker. Not when there's nothin to fight over."

The female stormwing screeched in the distance, but I wasn’t focusing on her anymore.

"I understand that. I also understand that contrary to your claims, you just MADE something to fight over." I said threateningly.

"I'm already sparin' yer girlie, cuz that hurt like hell.” He was bleeding from the face and neck. “Only reason I ain't takin' off right now is so that I can explain this so you don't do anything schtupid."

"Then talk!" I demanded.

"He's just gonna pay a visit to a friend. You can come with him, or you can stay here. Either way, nobody's gettin hurt except for me," the male explained.

"Fucking press gang tactics!" Dawn shouted.

I didn’t have much I could do here. "I don't believe this was ever mentioned in the deal, for one, and two, I no longer have any reason to trust your word." I said, probably sounding pathetic. I was facing down a stormwing with a useless weapon, he’d just beaten me, and I was debating in legalese.

“You're right. I'll have to bring back a refund.” he said, evenly. “So you're staying here, then?"

"If I went with you, you'd drop me." I noted. I didn’t have any reason to believe him at this point.

"’f I did that, I'd be kill-on-sight for ya walkers. Just sit tight, alright? We'll be back, you get yer friend, yer cash... Do keep your Sheila here with ya, will ya? Ain't no reason to hurt anybody." he said, veiling his anger.

Dawn was wheeling in an attack pattern, waiting for another go at the stormwing.

"You took my client for forcemarking. Deal declined." I stated. I just didn’t trust him.

"Then I believe we're done here. Don't beat yerself up over it, happens all the time. You do what you gotta to survive. I do what I gotta." the stormwing said, stepping away, wing still up.

I let him go, keeping my eye on him. There was nothing I could do at the moment. When he left, however...he lowered his wing and made as though he was going to take off. Dawn swooped at him, but had to veer off when he took a slash at her with a wing.

"Hold, Dawn!" I said. I needed her intact.

And with that opening, the stormwing took off, heading due west after his partner...and Alex.

I was broken out of my thoughts just a moment later by Dawn yelling, "FUCK!" Same thing I was thinking, she just put it into words. I glanced over at her as I sheathed my dagger. The stormwings circled as they caught up, but I didn’t have a crossbow...I went to pick it up where I’d dropped it.

"This is why unarmed children should /not/ be allowed to come in here unarmed! Or at all!" Dawn shouted.

"I'm not disagreeing," I told Dawn. I needed to focus. "We probably don't have particularly long, come on."

Dawn looked at me incredulously. "Do you mean that you're actually going to Typhon's temple? Nathan, you can't make that in time. I can, but there's nothing I can do there..."

"I'm gonna do my best." I said, checking over my crossbow to make sure it was still in good order. Everything except the string...idiot.

She looked at me "What to you want me doin' hun? I don't know your plan here."

"Plan is to go and get Alex back." I dug a spare string out of my pack, and started restringing the bow.

Dawn paused, and looked at me with concern, seeing the blood on my hand. "You alright, hon?"

"It's just a scratch. I'll be fine. See, it's already clotting up." I said, showing her my hand after I finished restringing.

"Nothing we can do Nathan..." she said with resignation.

"I'm going to try. That's my job, and my code." I resolved.

"I hesitated too long... Again." she said, a bit angrily.

"I as well. Let's go make up for mistakes, eh?" I tried to buoy her spirits. I couldn’t do this on my own.

"Lead on." she said with a sigh.

I led onwards. "Just to keep you assured, the plan is in progress. But right now, there's alot of data I don't have that I'll need before I can figure anything solid out."

"Like what?" She followed as best she could, taking short flights when she needed to.

"Need to know how many people are there, for one. We also know the general direction, but don't have solid location data yet." I watched the stormwings as they went out of sight.

"There's a temple of Typhon that way. I guarantee that's where they're going."

"One piece of data, then." I nodded. "Preferably, I'd like to get in and out without alot of fuss. Of course, what I want and what will happen are likely going to be wildly different." I paused. "Unless you have any ideas?"

"I actually think that your plan will work just fine." Dawn commented flatly. "I've /seen/ it work just fine."

I took a deep breath...I was pushing myself harder, since time was of the essence now. No relaxed pace. "Good, then hopefully we can replicate that feat. Get in, rescue Alex, and get out, hopefully before they know what happened. Then we'll have to hide until tomorrow."

"It worked, Nathan, when it was me being rescued." Dawn said dryly.

Oh. Shit. I blanked off my face. "Ok." Hopefully I was a bit luckier than Dawn’s rescuers.

Dawn sighed, but kept pace.

"Any data you have that you can give me on Typhon? Followers, strength, anything else that I may not know? You're still the more experienced one here."

"Big ass dragon... He's basically Echidna under a different name. Another monster god."

"Hopefully we can avoid him," I said with a curse.

"He's like any other god, doesn't do much that we'll ever see."

"Gotcha. As for numbers, we'll have to figure that out when we get there, I guess?" I secured my crossbow and cleaned my wound, then got started doing a dressing and bandage on it. It was tricky, since it was on my hand.

"In all likelihood, we're heading for a stormwing rookery..."

I checked if stormwings were still on the horizon, and could see them glinting in the distance...especially in the direction we were headed. None of them were harrassing us at the moment, though. "Greaaaaaat." I sighed. "I'm wishing my crossbow had a larger magazine right about now."

"I'm wishing he'd just taken a mark."

"That'd probably have been best, but we can't do anything about that now."

We started entering what was...rough terrain farmland. Seriously. With naga farmers going on about their daily lives. I broke into a jog on occasion, detouring to avoid making anyone upset, but I kept heading due west towards the temple. Dawn kept up easily enough. As the terrain got rough in a hurry, I envied her wings. This was exhausting, even if I was still making decent time. Eventually, I told Dawn to stay down, so we didn’t tip our hand any earlier than necessary.

It took over an hour. But we made it up a ridge, finally, to look at the temple. It was down below the ridge, and the outside of the temple was made of museum components that had been dragged here, and built onto the entrance of a large cave system that went underground.

On the ridge, there was a well-armed naga that seemed to be expecting us. Oddly, this one was male. My heart sank. The ridge was such that it was impossible for it to have not seen us. It was heavily armored, and it wasn’t even wielding its short swords. Seemed too relaxed. I approached carefully.

After a moment, the naga asked, with a modified American accent. "You're with Alexss?"

I glanced away for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

"Thisss way, dude." He turned around and headed down the difficult trail toward the temple.

I eyequirked at this, but wasn’t going to look the gift horse in the mouth at this point.

Dawn looked to me. “I’m gonna go tophat, alright?” She was going to watch from altitude. I nodded to her, and she jumped off the ridge and started circling.

The naga led me on, as I expected to be ambushed at any time. After a short distance, he led me around and showed me a canvas awning. The two stormwings from before were there, hanging around in a shallow bowl-shaped depression...as well as a third one, about two-thirds their size...I looked upon it, and swore extensively in my head.

From the corner of my eye, the naga waved blandly towards the smaller stormwing with an arm, and then left to go about his business. They hadn’t noticed me yet, so they continued their conversation as I approached.

“So, what would it take for me to get myself back?” said the small stormwing, in Alex’s voice. DAMN IT ALL. My frame sagged a bit, not carrying myself quite as high anymore. I’d fucked up and Alex paid for it.

"Don't right know mate... Gotta be worth someone with power's while, roight? Long term service does that. Recruitin' does that... Ah, here's yer walker, come to get ya." The male stormwing said cordially. Jackass. The female turned and nodded towards me with a chirping sound.

Alex seemed confused. "Huh?" He looked over and spotted me, instantly cringing behind a wing.

After a moment, I broke the silence. "...I'm sorry."

"What happened?" Alex asked.

"We'll give ya some time alone. Shout if ya need anything, mates," the male said. He started to head off with the female to give us some talking room. They already did the dirty work, they’d get their reward soon enough.

I walked over towards Alex slowly, carefully. "You'll need to be...slightly more specific."

"I got kidnapped by those dudes right?" Alex asked.

I paused. "Yes. You did."

"And now I'm marked and a freak to boot." he stated.

"...yes. And I'm sorry..." I could feel the Typhon mark on him. He was taking it...rather well, it seemed. That said, it WAS my first time near a new forcemark.

"I shouldn't have been so pigheaded." Alex said.

"There's little that we can do about that now." I said, trying to keep him from beating himself up. We could both do that later tonight.

Alex sighed. "What now?"

"Well...we can continue with the original plan. Or you can choose to do something new..." I winced. "I'm...not sure you'll even be able to leave, honestly."

"Why?"

"Well...I can't say for certain, but I'm presuming that the metal feathers will get a lot heavier out of the realms." Fact is, I knew that they would. Stormwing forcemark is one of the worse ones for that reason.

Alex eyed his new plumage. "Oh."

"But that's one option. We could ask Dawn for input." I glanced up and nodded solemnly to Dawn as she wheeled overhead at low altitude. "The other is to...well, some other people just skip off from their old life after this happens..."

Alex nodded silently.

"It's your call. If you want to continue, consider the Athens fee waived." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Alex’s stuff was folded neatly on a nearby ledge...and the refund of my cash. Bleeding hell, now I felt even worse.

Alex shuddered a bit. "Let's have a stab at it."

I nodded. "Alright, then. Lemme get your stuff and I'll be ready to go."

Alex nodded as I headed over and collected his stuff and balanced it with my gear. Now I’d be the slowest one; this was bordering on more than I could reasonably carry. I’d be glad when I could offload some of it at the RI outpost in Corinth. Company money, and all that.

"What now?" Alex looked like he was brooding.

"You said you wanted to go?" I reminded.

"Yeah, of course ... " he paused. "It's just a bit ... much."

Hell of an understatement, there. I looked up to make sure Dawn was still there. "I would say I understand, but I don't. So take all the time you need."

Alex nodded. "Which direction?"

I pointed back towards the road.

Alex started that way, walking awkwardly. "I guess there's no way out of this except for thier way?" He pointed towards the direction the other stormwings had went.

Pretty much. "What did they say?"

"If I got influential enough I could do something about it." he recited.

“Not sure I'd take them at their word." I said skeptically. "I did that once and look what happened."

Alex nodded. "With a bit of luck Athene can do something about it."

"Maybe. You're already going to be asking alot, and it's hard to override a Mark." I explained.

"Yeah, but this..." He indicated himself.

"I know, Alex. I know." I wasn’t pleased with the situation, and it was clear in my voice.

"We'll ... We'll try to get Nick fixed first."

"Well, that's the best we can do. Again, don't worry about the Athens fee. It's complimentary."

Alex smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Again. Not sure you'll be able to leave the Realms. Can I propose something?" I tried to be diplomatic again.

"Hmm?"

"I'll take that as a yes... Here's my suggestion. Since we don't know if you can leave the realms...you stay behind in Corinth, possibly with Dawn. I go back to Lecci, get the info and make the calls as fast as I can, return immediately, and then we go from Corinth to Athens. Or, alternatively, you and Dawn go ahead to Athens, and hole up in a inn, and I meet you there."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Which?"

"I think it's better if we stick together as much as we can."

"So...you and Dawn go to Athens?" Now I was confused.

He shook his head. "No, we wait in Corinth, that way we lose sight of you for the least amount of time."

"Ah. Ok, I gotcha."

"It's easier for one group to help the other if they know where the other is.”

"That it is." I paused and broached the next topic. "However, this leaves me with a bit of a quandry of my own."

"Yes?"

"I'm perfectly capable on the computer, digging news and finding updates, but contacting your friend and convincing him of my trustworthiness will be a bit more difficult without your word to assist... and by 'a bit more difficult', I'm meaning, 'Any codewords, special secret knowledge, or other things which can help would be greatly appreciated.'"

Alex nodded and looked thoughtful. "Well, my raccoon shifting thing ... you and dawn are the only locals who know about that."

Alex frowned a bit. "Oh, and maybe about steve ... he's an anubis who works in the embassy, I meant to play some video games with him." He eyed his wings and feet. "Not going to happen now." he said ruefully.

I winced. "Ok. Your name, and Blossom's..."

"Alex Iosif, yeah."

I nodded. "And hopefully, that'll be enough. If you come up with anymore, it'll be appreciated, but between all that, I'm pretty sure I can fast talk unless he's a real skeptic." Breathe. "In any case, I'll try and do things as fast as possible. One day, two at the most.”

Alex nodded. "I think I can survive that."

"Well, it'll be a bit longer on your end."

"Because that's how long I'll take in Lecci. Plus transit time, you're looking at 4 to 5 days..."

Alex sighed.

"Again, my apologies."

"You couldn't have done anything about this."

"Yeah. I could have,” I countered. "I could've not trusted them."

"Yeah, but then they'd have taken me, and Blossom the first time round."

"...I guess that's true." I granted him.

"I should have been more carefull, I got careless and shifted."

“All they need to do is give me an excuse if I see them again...” I muttered.

"Hmm?"

"I said, I see them again, all they need to do is give me an excuse." I repeated patiently. This was a bad time to lose my temper.

"Sorry, my ears aren't what they used to be."

"Sorry, man. I don't look highly upon oathbreakers."

Alex nodded as he hopped over a rock. "I feel the same but I don't know if that's such a smart thing, they look nasty."

"They are." I agreed. "Still, give me half a chance and one excuse..." This wasn’t a productive line of thought. "...You'll probably do well to talk with Dawn alot in a bit. She can help you get accustomed."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I will. I don't even know what I eat."

“Meat, mostly.”

Alex wrinkled his nose and groans.

"Something wrong?"

"Itch."

"Where? Lemme get it."

"My nose."

I walked over...carefully, and scratched his nose a bit. Least I could do at this point.

Alex paused. “I hate not having hands."

"...honestly? That was one of the things that led me to get marked in the first place...although that's probably not what you want to hear."

Alex nodded. "I can't imagine what it would have been like for Dawn.”

"...probably not particularly different."

Alex shuddered a bit. "I neglect to get myself marked, against your advice and this happens, I make one small slip of judgement... I neglect to get the cure immediately and I lose my identity." He muses.

"You have to make the best with what you have." Like I should talk.

"Yep. Only I don't have much this time round."

"Dawn can help you with the manual dexterity." I paused. "And...not sure if this'll help, but you're quite formidable in combat now."

"Yes?"

"The feathers are razor-sharp; you can harden them to metallic properties at will.”

Alex eyed his feathers. "Yeah, wouldn't want to run into myself on a dark night... though I'm not much of a fighter, never been in a real fight."

"I've been in some. It happens in the realms."

"It might have been a good thing that they got me so easily, they left you two alone." Alex said morbidly.

"Still makes me feel bad."

"Well, look at it this way, I'm still of the same mind and same gender so all is not lost."

"That's true." Wonder what Dawn'd say to that. I looked up to make sure she was still following along.

"One thing I can't quite get.” Alex asked. “Why did they do this to me in stead of all the other horrible things I can think of. My shapeshifting doesn't work anymore."

"Gods need power to operate. In order to get that power, they need Marked worshippers, willing or non. Which in turn allows them to get more worshippers, and more power. Vicious cycle." I explained.

"Yes, but I am ... I was a shapeshifter who operated outwith the influence of the gods. Someone should be curious about how I operate."

"Some of us were. Unfortunately, to Typhon, you were simply one more body."

Alex paused, nodding. "Which is probably a good thing. I really don't like the idea of some god experimenting on my arse."

"Fair enough."

"Like this I may turn alot of heads but I'm not really wierd."

"To a degree."

"Yep. Though I wish I could have been furnished with a more sensible body, no offence intended."

"None taken."

Alex breathed deeply and looked sad. After a moment, he perked up. He cautiously half-spread a wing and examined it. "So, any tips for when I confront Athene? Her priestesses or whatever." he corrected after a moment.

"Just be polite, I'd say. And ask, not demand... Explain the situation as best you can. I'll take notes from my convo with your friend and bring them back with me." "Dawn might have a few more pointers, but she's not as soft spoken as me. Course, you may have noticed that."

Alex smiled. "Yeah, but she's okay. I now know what it feels like."

"Well, that's obvious..."

"Yep, and I've been like this for less than a couple of hourse and I'm allready pissed off."

"I don't think I can say "I'm Sorry" enough, man."

Alex frowned. "Oh shut up."

"...sure." I said, uncertain what else to say.

"Whether or not you could have done something and didn't, or you didn't do it well enough doesn't matter anymore. I am a Stormwing right now and no amount of apologising will change that.” He said. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what you have done for me but the past is the past. We have to look forward and find a way to fix this fiasco."

"You're right,” I agreed. What else could I do?

Alex slumped and sighed with relief. "Thanks man."

"Not a problem. I'll do my best."

"Me too." He paused. "If all else fails I'll have to try and make a deal with Bast."

"Maybe that's the last course of action you'd like to take."

"Alright, we’ll talk more later. Right now, let's keep going until you get tired, and then we can camp for the night."

"I don't know what I'm going to do after athene...."

"After Athene? Dunno, really. You'll have to see what happens there." I said, and then we fell silent and just walked for a while.

Eventually we made it back to the road. We trekked on for a few hours, and then we had to camp. It was only about 5PM, and we could’ve continued, but it time. Alex was having trouble walking with his new legs, and I was having trouble carrying that much gear. Best to call it for the night and take a go at it tomorrow. I’d be doing all the work at the camp anyways, as virtue of being the only person with hands.

Dawn did her final sweep and landed in the camp. She headed over to Alex, who was huffing in a ‘corner’ while I was getting the fire started. Had to cook the field rations and all. I listened in on their convo for the time being, but didn’t say anything.

“How you holding up, kiddo?” Dawn asked him as she approached.

"Aside from feeling fucking useless, okay." Alex grumped.

"You're doing not half bad..." Dawn noted.

"Yeah?"

"Better than I did, actually..."

“What did you do?" Alex asked curiously.

"I'd rather not talk about it... Have you jabbed yourself yet?"

Alex shook his head. "I don't have a clue how I'm going to sleep tonight."

"The body knows what it's doing. That's the one mercy they give us."

"Did they also call it a 'little' adaptation ...?" Alex asked out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"The servants of the god that ... marked me talked about it like I was getting a filling..."

"Mm.." Dawn nodded soberly.

"Very annoying, but I'm getting sidetracked..." Alex sighed. "Yeah, I'm doing okay all things considered."

"I'd give you a hug, but uh..." Dawn trailed off.

Alex smiled painfully. "...I'm not that cuddily." He picked at the dirt a bit with a foot.

After the moment, I stood and headed over. I just stood nearby, not interrupting as they continued.

"I really would." Dawn said emphatically.

"Thanks." Alex said, obviously hurt by the sentiment. "Without you guys I'd probably have been dead in the water by now ..."

"Fact is, Alex... The faster you manage to learn what you've lost and what you've gained, the more you'll help your friends, and the less you'll be feeling useless like this." Dawn paused. "One of the first things is to learn flight. Flight, dexterity, and basic combat."

Alex nodded and swallowed visibly. "Okay."

"I can help you out with all three."

Alex sighed. "Yeah."

Dawn glanced over to me. "Nate, you can come over here, we aren't making out or anything."

I smirked slightly at that. She better not be! "Just wanted to say, food's ready."

Alex chuckled a bit. "I wish. So, what's on?"

"A little mixture he makes that we call The Usual. When he's feeling spontaneous, he makes Usual Surprize." Dawn said.

"Ooh, sounds tasty." Alex said sarcastically. "How do I eat by the way?"

"You'll figure it out; it's not that hard." Dawn said reassuringly. "In a way you're kinda lucky. Metal doesn't stain."

"Yeah ..." Alex said dryly as they followed me back to the prepared meal.

"But you can bet, Lex, that nothing's going to be scrapping with you anytime soon." Dawn encouraged.

"That's a good thing I guess... though not very comforting."

"Look kiddo... I suck at this, alright? Just... Try and find your own peace, and Nate'n'I will help as best we can." Dawn admitted.

"It's just hard..."

I remained silent as I dished up the food. I’d made extra tonight in comparison to the way down, since I figured everyone could use a bit more to cheer up, and we had less people eating, so we could afford the luxury.

Alex eyed his plate, and then Dawn. Dawn took her serving with a foot, then hopped over to a spot to sit down. She scraped off her claws on each other, held her dish in one foot, and ate with the other foot’s claws. It was much more deliberate than usual, so that Alex could examine what she was doing for imitation purposes.

"Use your teeth to carry if you don't trust your balance." she advised. "And use a fork if you want to... I don't bother."

Alex nodded, and picked his plate up with a foot, placing it between his teeth and heading for his own spot to sit.

I glanced to Dawn as she ate. "I should mention to you...Alex and I have decided to change the travel plans a bit." I said between bites of my own food.

"Figured."

Alex mimicked Dawn’s motions awkwardly.

"It's like using chopsticks, Alex; just gotta see what works and get used to it." she advised him. Alex nodded in response, ravenously and messily eating down his food. He must’ve been starving.

"The current plan is for you two to stay in Corinth and you help him adjust, while I go to Lecci and take care of the things we mentioned." I paused for a moment. "If you have no objections, of course."

"I can do that, yeah." Dawn nodded.

"Thanks." Alex said.

"Then I'll go to Lecci, do the work as fast as I can, come back, and then we'll proceed to Athens.” I explained. I watched Alex to make sure he didn’t cut himself on his new plumage or talons.

"You owe me a day off when we get there, though." Dawn said.

I smirked a bit. "Sure thing, Dawn."

Alex eyed an offending talon after finishing his meal. "Babysitting is demanding."

"Damn rights." Dawn joked.

I collected the dishes from everyone and started to clean them. Wasn’t too big a deal, just some water and scrubbing and they could air-dry.

"Hey Nathan... Got about a foot of that thick cheap shitty rope you can spare?" Dawn asked.

"Yep. Gimme a sec." I stood and started rolling out some of the rope from my pack. “Need it cut?”

Alex stood up and jumped as he did. “Ow! Fuck!” I looked over to see that he’d nicked his face with a feather...and had just barely avoided trying to bring a ‘hand’ up to rub the new cut. I winced as he glowered at a wing.

"Careful Alex... Yeah, just fire off a foot or so, Nate." Dawn said as she stood up.

I sliced the rope off with my knife as Dawn hopped over. I offered it to her, and she took it, tossing it over to Alex.

"Practice with this. Sit there and tie a knot in it, then untie it. Try different knots, over and over. When you shred it, get Nate to give you another one." Dawn explained to him.

Alex eyed the rope, then Dawn, then sat down and started trying to tie knots in the rope with a sigh.

“Trust me, it helps.” Dawn advised.

Meanwhile, we had some water left from dinner. I took the opportunity to remove my dressing, clean my wound again, and then redress it with a fresh bandage.

Alex sighed a bit. He was having trouble even tying his first knot.

"Find little ways to practice everything. It won't take long at all to get practiced enough to do it all." Dawn paused. "Tie knots, scratch patterns, thread needles. Pretend that a shrub is your enemy, and slash it with a wing."

Alex eyed his feet incredulously, then shredded the rope on the third knot. He huffed and stood up, looking around for a bush. “I need to let off some steam.” he said.

I paused in my tasks to watch. This, I wanted to see.

Alex took a swipe at one of the bushes with his wing. I watched from a distance as his primaries quite literally shredded the near side of the bush, sending twigs and leaves flying and falling all over. Alex grinned and closed in on the bush and its friends, starting to go ballistic on them. Each was quite thoroughly pureed in just a few swipes, leaving what looked like a spilled salad on the ground all near them. Alex panted a bit and grinned back to Dawn.

"Try a tree." she encouraged.

Alex nodded and strode up to a young tree, trying to hack at it in a sideways slash. His feathers sank in and cut, but didn’t have enough momentum to carry through, getting lightly stuck in the thick wood of the bark.

"Armoured target, you have to shear it, not cut it." Dawn advised.

"Fuck." Alex said, carefully trying to pull his wing free. Dawn giggled a bit as he easily got out. I was just glad he wasn’t that pissed at me. "What do you mean by shearing it?"

"Heh, I'm not sure. It's all practice, Alex."

Alex nodded, and took another try, with a more cutting than hacking motion. He got several curls of outer bark to peel back...but he still got stuck again. He pulled his wing free again with a frown, and tried again, with more caution. “Yep, I notice.”

"You're doing good, Alex." Dawn encouraged.

After a few more slices at it, Alex stopped and leaned against the tree. “Thanks.”

"We'll get you up to speed."

He nodded. "Yeah... um, may I ask a personal question?"

"Go ahead.”

"Umm, how long have you been of the ... feathered kind?"

I browquirked and listened. I hadn’t asked that question myself, yet.

"Several years... Long enough that I'm comfortable identifying myself as what I am."

"Damn...”

"I've been... Seven years now. I was Nathan's age when I was taken, even if I don't look that old now."

Dawn shrugged a bit. "For simplicity sake, I just refer to myself as though I've always been this way." Alex shuddered visibly. "May as well, I'm going to be living the rest of my life like this."

I finished the rest of my tasks and sat down by the fire.

"It's actually sort of odd... When I think about turning into... What I used to look like...It just seems entirely disgusting." Dawn said.

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"Dunno." Dawn said as she sat down, spreading her wings in a shrug.

"Maybe it is part of accepting what you are..."

"Probably. I just think about losing flight or being male or being welcomed back after these years with opened arms by the bloody clergy... And any of em make my ass cringe."

"Being male?" Alex inquired.

Dawn shrugged.

Alex looked to Dawn, me, and then back to Dawn. "I won't ask."

"It doesn't matter." she said. I contributed a shrug as well.

Alex wisely changed the subject. "What about that flying thing ...?”

"Your body knows how... It just doesn't know how /well/." Dawn explained. I was slightly jealous.

"So I basically just run around flapping my arms?" Alex asked. He spread his wings and gave a half-hearted flap.

"Right now? Yeah, pretty much." Dawn nodded.

"Well, if there's nothing else to it..." He runs down the path, flapping said wings. After a few moments, he lumbered into the air, and came around in a wide, unsteady curve. I watched for now, ready to duck for cover if needed.

"Relax! Don't overthink it!" Dawn yelled.

"Relax?" Alex shouted as he careened past us, narrowly avoiding the tree. Dawn jumped the hell out of the way. Colliding with Alex would be fatal, and not for him. Alex gained some altitude with a few powerful wingstrokes, and made another wide circle. "Sorry!" he shouted.

"This should help some." Dawn responded.

Alex circled a bit, looking down to Dawn. "What should help?"

"Practice!"

Alex nodded, and circled a few more times before coming in for a landing. Good idea, since the sun was starting to set by now. I didn’t notice it immediately, but he had a tailwind.

"We have a few days to work on it." Dawn said, as Alex suddenly faceplanted with a bad landing.

"Dammit!" He shouted, picking himself up.

"You ok?" I said as I hurried over, careful to remain out of range of the wing.

"Yeah, just a couple of bruises and scratches." Alex nodded. A few of his feathers had been stuck in the ground and pulled free of his body.

"Ok." I said, taking a step back. Rule One: stay out of wing-reach with the walking barbershop.

Alex shook a bit, trying to straighten his feathers. He eyed one of the discarded feathers and tried to pull it out of the ground clumsily with a talon. He got a good grip on it and yanked it out of the dirt, eyeing the bent feather carefully.

"We'll work on it. Good landings are tough to master, but easy to practice." Dawn said.

Alex frowned, then dropped the feather and walked over towards the camp again. "Yeah. Painful too."

"So's learning to ride a bike." Dawn pointed out.

Alex chuckled and spread his wings. "Can I get stabilizers for these?"

"They wouldn't work in the realms anyways." I noted.

"And the wings don't work outside the realms because I'm as aerodynamic as a brick or the space shuttle.”

"Bingo."

"Hmm...there’s an idea. We could be pioneers in trans-realm technology..."

"Kind of have different priorities just now." Dawn noted.

Alex nodded. "But it's a good idea for if we ever have a bit of time on our hands ... well /hands/ ...."

"Ours're hands once you learn how to use em right." Dawn encouraged.

"Though you'd be hard pressed to actually call em hands." He wiggled his toes. "Though they are /handy/."

"You won't even break any claws, with tals like that." Dawn noted.

Alex nodded, then started humming “Always look on the bright side of life.” I was kinda surprised he knew it, to be honest. That said, me and Dawn both chuckled a bit at the choice of song.

"I uh... Don't recommend sleeping in your tent tonight." Dawn noted after she was done.

"Hmm? ...ah, the sleeping thing. Wouldn't that be pretty .. chilly?"

"It's not particularly bad right now. We really...don't want to shred your tent." I noted kinda awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah, damn."

"I think we'll find out... You think the metal is heat-conductive?"

“Well, we have the fire going, so we have the ability to test if needed.”

"Umm, what ability?" He looked uneasy.

"Only if you're willing, Alex. Not gonna force that." I reassured.

He frowned. "Willing to do what?"

"Test to see if the metal is heat conductive."

"Kind of important once the chill of night sets in." Dawn noted.

"I'll have to find out at some point anyway... fire ahead." he said.

Suddenly, I got an idea. “One sec.” I went over to my tent and dug through Alex’s stuff a bit, digging out the lighter I’d seen him with in the past. After I had it, I brought it back outside. “You mind, man?” I said to Alex.

Alex shook his head. "Not at all. You keep it, it's not like I can use it."

I browquirked. Really? I’d have to discuss that with Alex more later...but, in any case... "Hold out your wing."

Alex extended his wing fully out to the side, slowly and carefully, shifting his balance to compensate. I found a feather away from the flesh, flicking the lighter on for a few seconds to ‘burn’ the feather.

After a few moments, Alex nodded. “It’s okay.”

I let the lighter click off. “Interesting. You sure you don’t want this back, Alex?”

"Well, I can't carry it and I'd be hard pressed to use it." he nodded.

"They do sleep outside, there's got to be some adaptation." Dawn noted with a nod.

I nodded back to Alex. “Well, thanks then.”

"Just don't flog it in the first town, it's kinda dear to me." Alex said as he refolded his wing.

I shook my head. "No, no. It'll be useful, if the flint and tinder get wet or somesuch. And a nice memento."

Alex nodded and took a seat near the fire for now. Dawn stuck near him to offer moral support. We chatted for a bit, then broke up our watches. Just me and Dawn, each taking a shift, and we all got some much-needed sleep.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's_Grove|Selene's Grove]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Selene's Grove

2013-09-13T11:42:01Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selene's Grove}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The next morning we set out early. It was a quick movement, and we encountered a few groups going the other direction. Pleasantries were exchanged, but nothing much occurred. Once the sun came up and the thermals started, stormwings were visible on the horizon, but they left us in peace. It seems that the bribe was good, after all.

I had to keep an eye on Blossom and made sure she stayed hydrated, since she had all that fur and it was warm. Alex was walking along and enjoying, and then we came over the rim of a small mountain, and there was Selene’s grove.

The whole thing is a forest, and it’s very distinctive, because it has excellent maintenance from its wardens. Everything looked vibrant and healthy. As we descended into the valley, we could see the entire boundaries, set against a backdrop of rougher terrain. The entire thing couldn’t be more than fifty square miles in total, I guessed. Blossom took a moment to admire the sight as we approached, but kept up, nodding slightly. Seems she approved.

"Looks nice." Alex commented.

"Selene has interests in keeping it well maintained." I mentioned.

"Then we should be careful not to disturb anything." Blossom stated.

"That would leave a bad impression, yes." And decrease whatever chance they had even further, I thought to myself.

"Roger." Alex said. He and Blossom nodded and followed me as I took the lead. I placed my weapons in storage and advised the others to do the same.

The main path continued into the forest, overgrown a bit, but clearly marked. In keeping with Selene’s “peace and love” philosophy, there was a lot of hippie-related things approaching the entrance. Painted peace signs, bandanas tied to a sign post. One rock face we passed had a big VW emblem spiked into it. Blossom growled slightly at that, but I shushed her, explaining this was accepted here.

Once we got under the canopy, it was like a Disney movie. The wildlife was present, abundant, and perfectly willing to approach an individual. Heck, if you could call it that, the animals were even friendly. Selene’s not a god with wide influence, but her presence is hard to ignore.

"I wonder if marijuana is grown here..." Alex mused after a while.

"What plant is that? I haven’t heard of it.” Blossom inquired.

"It's a recreational drug." I stated.

"The dude said it." Alex nodded.

"Recreational?" Blossom seemed confused.

"You use it for fun." Alex said.

“Fun...what do you do with it?" she pressed the issue.

"You smoke it and it makes you relax." I stated.

"The world becomes a better place.” Alex nodded.

“Why would you smoke a plant?" Blossom seemed confused.

"Well, when you smoke it this stuff in it goes into your blood and it makes you relax,” ALex explained, slightly exasperated.

"I’d rather drink tea." Blossom said, turning up her nose a bit.

"Tea is better for you, yes." I stated, closing off the conversation.

We passed a few hippie camps on each side, pretty stereotypical things. Guitars, music, weed, long hair. There was a circle of people talking off to the side; only about half of them were human. They noticed us and waved enthusiastically, greeting us in a variety of languages, which we returned in English.

We kept walking on. It was about a third of a mile later when the trail broadened and split, with a huge stone structure, like an artful combination of an Aztec pyramid and Stonehenge. It was overgrown, but in a specific way that told you it was carefully maintained. Around and nearby were several statues or large-scale wood carvings which served the same purpose.

Blossom looked at it with admiration. “Its pretty.”

"Well, this is where you were looking to go. You people ready?" I said.

"As ready as I ever will be,” Alex sighed.

"Yes, I’m ready.." Blossom nodded, and bowed and offered a small prayer to a nearby statue

"Do you wish me to accompany you inside, or would you rather go alone?" I asked.

"I would like to go alone.." Blossom said.

"Then I shall wait." I nodded. Selene isn’t into the forcemark business so I knew she’d be fine in here. Violence in Selene’s grove is...frowned upon. There’s a reason hippies like it.

"I'll also wait outside then?" Alex asked.

"Well...you can come if you want Alex." Blossom said uncertainly.

"But is that a good idea? I'm not a follower of Selene."

"Just go ahead." Dawn spoke, finally breaking her silence of the trip.

"I don't know, I’m sure it would be okay... but if you want to stay here it may be best?" Blossom said.

"Nate and I will watch things out here." Dawn stated. I nodded in agreement.

Alex nodded. "Okay, I'm coming along."

"Alright." Blossom took a deep breath "Shall we go, then?"

Alex nodded, and followed Blossom as they headed up the steps of the pyramid as I watched from a distance. I kept a focus on this to see what’d happen.

There were three dryads standing at the entrance, chatting amongst each other. Blossom walked towards them, and greeted them with a warm “Hello.” Alex just stood by near her, looking like a bodyguard.

The dryads fell into line and bowed, the middle one speaking. “Welcome, travellers, to Selene's domain. The land is open to your use, so long as you show it peace and respect."

Blossom nodded. "Thank you. I promise we shall give it the respect it rightly deserves."

"Thank you." Alex echoed Blossom.

Blossom got straight to the point. "Can I ask to see Selene?"

The left dryad spoke. "See her? Oh, Elysium no, dear. Concerns are handled through the attendants of the grove."

"Then could I speak with the attendants...unless you are the attendants?" Blossom asked. She was decent at being polite when she wanted to, it seems.

"Today that is us,” the left dryad spoke with a giggle.

"Is there somewhere..we could talk in private?" Blossom said as she pulled back her hood.

The center dryad nodded. "There most certainly is." She offered her hand to Blossom.

Blossom took her hand, and the dryad started to lead her around the structure and out of my vision.

Alex stood there awkwardly, waiting. He looked back to me. I met his gaze and shrugged. He nodded and tapped his foot, looking down.

The right side dryad spoke again. "You've come all this way to accompany your friend?"

Alex looked at her. "Yeah, kinda."

She nodded. "That is very sweet of you. Perhaps you might learn from your visit and enjoy our glade."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, it's very nice here."

"The springs are down this path here, as is the orchard. They are a good place to start."

Alex nodded again. "If you don't mind I think I'll have a peek then."

"By all means. Enjoy yourself, and carry no anger."

“Thanks for the tip." Alex said. He turned and headed off, glancing at us with a nod.

I took a seat on a nearby rock and looked at Dawn. We both shared a glance, and then started making some small talk.

{{separator|k}}

After a while, Blossom came back to the two of us. I greeted her as she approached.

"Hello, I have something to tell you." she said.

"Yes, what is it?" I said, curious.

She took a breath. "Well, I've decided to assist Selene in her duties here in the grove."

I quirked a brow. "This is your choice. However, if you want to save your friend, this may not be the fastest course of action. You realize this?" I stated. As I did, I noticed Alex approaching from the corner of my eye

Blossom nodded. "I know, but this might give me time to come up with a plan."

Alex had some fruit juice on his face as he returned. "Hey Blossom, how did it go?"

"I’m going to help selene in the grove for a bit." she repeated.

"And she's going to fix Nick?" Alex sounded hopeful.

Blossom sighed. "No..she said we need both halfs of him but we can’t get Nkosi to leave Bast.."

"Ah." Alex frowned. "Well, that isn't going to help us much."

I scratched at my chin slightly, glancing to Dawn as they spoke. She wingshrugged at me.

Blossom nodded. "They also said Selene would help me hear the truth with something called communal ears.."

"The truth?" Alex asked.

"I’m not sure what she meant but i just hope it doesn't take too long... I want to help Nick, no matter what." Blossom resolved.

"Sounds like a polite way to say 'spy network' to me, really." Dawn stated.

I nodded to Dawn, and glanced to Alex. "I would say that this course of action would be a long-term one."

"Yep, and our money is running out quicktime." Alex noted.

"I’m going to ask her how long it will be," Blossom said, starting back to the dryad without another word.

"So, we need an alternative plan..." Alex mentioned.

I shrugged. "I offered one...that's all I can do. This gives a bit more info to work with, though."

"And I'm liking it more every minute." Alex mentioned.

"If they need both halves of this friend of yours...well...hmm. This Nick works at the embassy in Britain, right? Perhaps we're due for a phone call at some point before or after seeing Athene." I mused.

"Getting Nick isn't much of a problem, Nkosi is what I'm worried about." Alex said.

"For good reason...but perhaps Nick could provide more information. Or serve as bait... Nkosi has left the realms before. Which puts him several steps above other major Realms figures. At least in ease of capture, because it implies there are circumstances under which he will leave the realms." I explained.

"Then what would be our next destination? We have to be outside the realms for telephone to work, right?" Alex nodded.

"Indeed."

"What would be best: Going out and getting some info from Nick and then talking to Athene or going to her while we're in the realms anyway?" Alex asked.

"I could argue it either way." I pointed out. "On one side, you're getting useful information that may help in any attempts to petition Athene. It would also cost more for the boat trip. On the other hand, you're getting your pledge or refusal of assistance before you play your cards based on a certain answer; but you may not have the info you need.” I paused for a moment. “Do you want what I, personally, would do?"

"Yes please." Alex nodded.

"I, personally, would go back to Lecce, get any information you could, restock supplies, and then go to Athens." I stated.

"Let's hope we have enough money for that." Alex sighed.

"This also gives the chance to check events on the computer and get to-the-minute updates, rather than the sometimes-weeks-old word of mouth news in the Realms."

Alex nodded again. "Smart."

I looked to Dawn for a moment, then back. "I'm interested enough in you, and how this is going, to cut you a deal. It's not all the time I get to talk to people as interesting as you." I smiled.

Alex smiled. "Thanks."

I shrugged. "Not a problem. Just keep me interested, and you've got a guide."

Alex glanced in the direction Blossom went. "She sure does take her time... oh well, this is a pretty damn nice place,”

"Selene does keep a very nice area, yes." I nodded.

"Just a pity about everything outside it." he noted.

"Well, I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"It does have a certain frontier something..." Alex admitted, as Blossom returned to our group. I could feel the Selene aura on her; she’d gotten a voluntary mark.

Alex glanced towards Blossom. "And?"

"She was Marked." I noted to Alex.

"Well, I've decided to stay and help here, I will be able to learn to know where Nkosi is through the wind of the mother." Blossom nodded. So through the spy network.

"Ah ..." Alex said uncertainly.

"You can stay if you want to, the sister druid told me so." Blossom said.

Alex frowned.

"It will only be for a few weeks...”

"Nate and I have to get back to Lecci long before then." Dawn noted. "We're only hired for the next day or two." She paused. "Or he is... I was never hired in the first place."

Blossom nodded, looking to Alex. "What about you Alex?"

Alex looked mildly worried "I don't like the idea of leaving you."

"I'll be okay, I have my sisters and Selene to help me." she said with confidence. Man, that was a huge change in her demeanor.

"But ... okay, but be careful." Alex said.

"I'll be fine, I need you to go back to Nick and tell him for me, okay? Tell him I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Blossom said.

"Okay, but keep on being you, don't let them change who you are." Alex warned.

Blossom giggled a bit. "You worry too much."

Alex nodded. "I do."

Blossom moved in and hugged Alex, as he gave a one-armed hug back to her. She released him after a moment, and turned to me. "Thank you, Nathan and Dawn, for getting us here safely."

I smiled. "It's no problem."

Blossom came over and gave me a hug as well, and then one to Dawn, who humored her with a winghug.

I looked to Alex after the hugs were done. "May I suggest a course of action?"

Alex nodded. "Yes."

"The short version is we go back to Lecci, get info, contact your friend, move onto Athens, make things happen there, and then return to Selene's grove." I said.

"That sounds good to me," Blossom nodded.

Dawn was the voice of realism. "Which leaves the question...Whose coin is this happening on?"

"Mine as long as I have any." Alex said.

"I can give you the last of mine." Blossom offered helpfully.

"I already mentioned I was willing to cut them a deal." I reminded Dawn. I was a bit surprised; Dawn's usually sharper than that.

"A deal is one thing, but you're talking about a fair amount of travel here... Are we putting together a real party of this?" Dawn explained.

"Can you do me a favor Nathan?" Blossom said.

I looked at her. "What is it?"

"You have to promise me you'll keep Nick safe. I know he might not approve of this but just keep him safe for me." Blossom nodded.

"I'll do my best. Difficult to do at this range." I said.

"When you get back to him is what I mean." She clarified. She had a few more cards in her deck than I thought she did.

I nodded to Blossom in affirmation, then turned back to Dawn. "I don't know, that's up to the client. Mayhaps we just tag along with another group as far as we can."

"I imagine he'll try to come get me..which I hope he doesn’t." Blossom said. I presumed she meant Nick.

"I'll do my best,” Alex said to Blossom.

"I would worry if Nick did..." Blossom trailed off.

"Are you sure that going back to Lecci is entirely neccessary?" Dawn asked. "We can send messages from Corinth, and save a bundle of cash."

"We also can't contact Alex's friend from Corinth...it's his choice." I pointed out.

"We need to discuss a couple of things with him." Alex nodded.

"I shall miss you all." Blossom said...then she smiled. "Selene light your path, wherever it leads."

I nodded back to her. "Goodbye, Blossom."

"Thanks Blossom. Be careful," Alex said.

"I will; don't worry about me. It’s really safe here." Blossom smiled one last time and then headed away.

I turned to Lex. “We’ll leave tomorrow. Until then...take some personal time. I think we all need a bit of a break. We’ll all be fine.”

He nodded uncertainly, but tried to hide it.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire_Chat|Campfire Chat]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds_of_a_Feather|Birds of a Feather]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Campfire Chat

2013-09-13T11:40:40Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campfire Chat}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

After a while, I woke up to tend the fire. Alex was there, sitting up straight in a somewhat lazy position. His breath rate indicated he was likely awake, though his eyes were closed. Probably trying to maintain nightsight. After a few moments of my movement, he spoke.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you." He said quietly.

I glanced over at Alex. "It would've been nice to know ahead of time, yes, since something I'll now need to keep track of in my decisions."

"I was ... afraid." he admitted.

"Of what?"

"The usual alien fare, government autopsies, probes, getting headline news, etc."

"I understand...the news and such did happen at first. It's kinda gone down in the past 19 years, although if you wanted to avoid making news, you've already failed that." I mentioned.

"Yeah, but I'm slightly different from your average harpy." Alex paused. "No offense."

"Fair enough; none taken."

"It's also why I don't want my soul, aura or whatnot fucked with.”

I let that slide for now. "So you're not from this earth...strange. I don’t blame you for wanting to stay out of news, given the concerns about the 4th realm..."

"Fourth realm? Aren’t there only three?” Alex asked. He learned quick.

"There's concerns that your existence is a harbinger of a fourth realm opening somewhere." I mentioned.

"Wait, there have been more like us?"

"You, Blossom, Nick Snider, and Nkosi, are the ones mentioned in the news."

"We've already been in the news?" he sounded a bit surprised.

"Indeed. I'd seen pictures of both of you before you even hired me. There’s a particularly popular picture of Blossom getting off a transport with RAF officers.”

Alex grimaced. "Oh fuck. And there I was trying to keep a low profile."

I smirked. "Kinda tough these days, especially when you're that unique."

"Let's hope you don't have to start fending off g-men too. What about the others?”

"Media stories about you are not at all consistent." I shrugged. “Probably because they’re all tripping over each other to have the news first.”

"Let's hope they keep calling me human."

"Hopefully." I paused. "I've been asking all the questions; that's not like me. You have anything to ask me?"

Alex smiled and dropped a hint. "Though I'm not quite human even in this form. ... questions ... dunno, let be think for a second."

"Sure, sure. Nothing better to do." I said nonchalantly.

"Hmm, aside from the money. Why are you doing this? Why are you out here?"

"I've always been fascinated with the realms, since I was young."

Alex nodded. "I can see why. A year ago I'd die to have a peek at this world."

"So yeah. After I got older, I went to school to be a Realms guide. Get the skills needed to be hired." I elaborated.

"And now you're out here saving tourist asses."

I scoffed. "I wouldn't quite put it that way."

Alex chuckled. "I'm sure."

"Usually, I stay behind at the camp while the warriors and stuff go out for the exotic hunting and exploring, right now.” Not entirely true but the best light to cast it in.

"Well, at least you don't get gutted by some freak." He went on. "It's a pity about those glittery freaks, I wish we had better weapons."

"Its part of the job, man. I really didn't want to get into fighting." Especially not another encounter with stormwings.

Alex nodded. "It's a pity I don't turn into some beefed up werewolf or something. Just a fucking raccoon." He changed the subject. "So, how many times have you done stuff like this?"

“Realmwalking? I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head. At least 20 to 25 times by this point."

"Nice. Glad you have experience, don't want to be turned into some bird girl or something. No offence," he added quickly.

I glanced to Dawn’s lodging. “None taken.”

"Hmm, did all the creatures here suffer the same fate as Dawn?" Alex asked inquisitively.

"Some did, some are offspring, others...I honestly don't know." I paused. "Heh, want me to scare you?"

"Hmm? After all I've been through? Be my guest." He grinned.

"They say that if you get devoured by all three heads of a cerberus, you're reborn as one."

"That must be fun,” Alex said dryly.

I shrugged a bit. "There's worse that can happen. Some of the most powerful gorgons can petrify you."

"Ah, definitely not fun." He frowned. "But then you're just dead. Not really that bad I guess."

"Well, sometimes they can fix that."

Alex nodded. "Let's just hope we don't bump into any gorgons."

"Yeah, I'd prefer to avoid them as well," I admitted.

"Of course, then there's the odd god, we don't want to meet them." he trailed off.

"Why are you going to see Selene, if you don't mind me asking?”

"...Another god did something to a friend, we're hoping that she can help fix it."

"Well, I guess you may as well try." Didn’t wanna pour TOO much water on that.

"It's all we can," He said morosely. "I wonder if they could do something about my shifting triggers..."

"No idea." I glanced at my mark again. Nervous habit, that.

"Well, we'll see." Alex resolved.

I nodded, gaze not moving. Eventually I looked up, and Alex was eyeing my mark as well.

“You looking at my Mark?" I asked, evenly.

Alex nodded. "Sorry."

"Not a problem. If I didn't want it visible, I'd wear a glove."

"Athene's a good god right?"

"By the general standards of good, yes, she'd be on the list. Companion of heroes, goddess of heroic endeavor, wisdom, and honor."

"Yep, good god." He shifted the topic. "Let's just hope we all get back in one piece."

"That's my job. Gimme some credit, man.”

There was a prolonged pause as I stoked the fire a bit. "By the way. One thing has been on my mind ever since we started out..." Alex said.

"Yeah?"

"Not that I don't appreciate her help, but why did Dawn come with us? I believe we only hired one dude." Alex noted.

"She's coming pro bono. I asked Blossom during dinner if she minded; she said she didn't."

"But in my experience only good friends do stuff pro bono." Alex nodded. Ah, crap. Time to divert.

"Dawn is a good friend of mine. Although she's very big into the adventure of it all. Ask her about it."

"Ah, I will."

"And she helps me. She's got more experience than I do, to be honest."

"Yeah, she's a good person." Alex said.

I nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

Another subject change. "Blossom’s sure of it but I don't know how receptive Selene is going to be to our requests."

"I don't know either. I can't tell you for sure, but my guess would be that if she does help, you may end up doing something in return."

Alex nodded. "And I don't like the sound of it."

I shrugged. "It's all you can do."

"Yep, if we want to get nick fixed."

I jumped on this slip up. "Nick? Is this the Nick Snider in the same reports?"

"Oh ... um, yes." he admitted.

I browquirked. "Huh. So you're all connected?"

"Yeah...” He didn’t seem to want to say more than that.

"Huh. So care to tell me what happened to him, or is that private? If I'm prying, tell me, and we can change the subject."

Alex took a deep breath. "You know that Nkosi guy, from the news?"

"Yep, yep I do. Kinda an oddball for a realm bigwig."

"He and Nick are the same person."

“Wait, what?”

"Well, they're not the same person right now, but they used to be. It's weird even for me." Alex admitted. "That's what you get for crossing Bast I guess."

"...bizarre. Crossing in what way?" This was...concerning, to say the least.

"Catching her attention mostly, from what I've heard."

"Ahh..."

Alex closed his eyes. "And now we're out to find a cure."

I thought for a moment. "So he crossed Bast...if the news reports are to be believed, Nkosi is kinda a big name person for Bast?"

Alex nodded and opened his eyes, eyeing me. "Which means that he might not want to leave."

This was bigger than I planned, and the worry showed on my face. "I *MAY* have an idea if Selene doesn't help. I don't know. I'd have to talk to Dawn and maybe a few others, do some research in the archives.”

Alex frowned a bit. "What's that?"

"Nothing, right now. I need to check to see if it's even a possibility. I don't want to needlessly raise hopes."

"You might have already. What's plan B?"

"There is no plan B yet. I have an idea, nothing more." I shook my head. "And I'm not even sure the idea will work."

"Humor me."

"I'd rather not, at least not until I talk to Dawn. Apologies." I looked at my mark again, pondering.

Alex held up his hand. "No problem, I'll hear of it soon enough." He eyed my hand and then asked, "Does this 'idea' have something to do with your god and this code those shiny birds talked about?"

Bloody hell, he read me like a book. "...you're more astute than you let on."

Alex grinned. "Thanks."

"I've told you I'm a devout follower of Athene. That comes with a code of behavior I must follow." I explained. "I can't renege on a deal, for one. I must act with honor. I also can't cheat, steal, or use poison, and must try to protect others weaker than myself."

Alex nodded. "And where does Dawn come into the picture here?"

"Dawn comes into the picture because she can evaluate my idea. Long story short, there are power struggles between the gods."

"Ah, and Bast isn't a buddy of yours," Alex guessed.

"That would be a fairly succinct, if somewhat irreverent, way of putting it." I agreed.

Alex smiled. "Athiest."

"That's a difficult position to maintain in the realms," I mentioned.

Alex nodded. "I can understand that."

I shrugged. "I don't know. That's my idea."

"Playing gods off against each other. Dangerous game. ... Well, you /are/ a follower, that should count for something." Alex said, analytically.

"Yes, it is. And that's why I didn't want to raise your hopes."

Alex nodded. "Lets give Selene a shot first. Though I'm worried about what we're going to have to pay."

"That I can't say. Selene is a fairly benevolent goddess, but she doesn't always deign to interfere." I paused. "I was just thinking my idea because, in theory only, Athene would have a vested interest in denying Bast a powerful follower such as Nkosi."

Alex mulled. "What are, even benevolent gods, going to think of us, outsiders ...."

"Your guess is just as good as or better than mine."

"Let's hope Selene lives up to her reputation." He paused. "Hmm. Any spooky stories about the realms?"

I smirked. "Sure."

{{seperator|k}}

I finished telling the story after a while. It was a decent, if not too bad, story. We get worse at the guide socials. That said, Alex was new so I didn’t want to get too dark.

Alex inhaled deeply. "If anything quite near to that happens I'm outta here." He joked.

I chuckled softly. "Yeah. That's why I wanted to get us going early."

"That was early, my breakfast had barely settled."

"You need to take advantage of the daylight,” I explained. "We can't just pull out a Maglite and keep going."

"Yeah, but it doesn't help if you're a night person. It's a sorry steriotype but true." He shrugged.

"Agreed... I had some learning to do when I started heading out."

"Hmm?"

"One of the first things you learn is how to sleep anywhere. As well as being able to sleep almost on command and to sleep very lightly."

"An art I have yet to master,” Alex said annoyedly.

"It took me a while, but it's useful... I don't even need an alarm anymore. I wake up when I need to."

"Veery handy."

"Then I've been learning some combat skill, and some of the other things they didn't actually teach me in school."

"They don't teach you to fight? Just to run very fast I guess." Alex sounded confused.

"In school, they taught me the skills I needed to do my job. The finer details about Marks, the sleeping skills, combat, armor choices...that all came once I got out of school."

"Aah... A 'learn or be eaten' school of thought." Alex posited.

I nodded. "Yeah, more or less."

"I'm thinking about trying to get myself fixed while we're at it but I don't know if I'd be biting off more than I can chew." Alex said.

That couldn’t possibly mean what I thought it meant. "Fixed?"

"Well, right now I turn into an anthropomorphic raccoon every time I see something shiny. Certainly not as bad as becoming one of the denizens of the realms, but I'm sick of it."

"...ah." I nodded and paused. "Hmm. Again, I'm asking everything. Any more questions for me?"

"Ummmm..." Alex paused. "Hmm ... how has this trip been from your point of view? Good? Bad? Average?"

"Good, so far. We only had one encounter and we got off easy."

"Aah yes." Alex nodded. "I first thought you had chosen to be marked for your own security but then those birds started talking about slitting your throat and making off with us..."

"First, Dawn said they’d do that, not the Stormwings. But in any case, there's benefits and negatives to being marked."

"Yech, sorry. I'm getting a bit tired I guess."

I shrugged. "Not a problem."

"Still, I guess that not getting turned into something makes it worthwhile it by itself." Alex mused.

Nail on the head, there. "That's one definite perk, yes. Another is that if you're devout enough and useful enough, you may be granted a gift."

Alex curiously inquired, "A gift?"

"A special ability or power.” I explained. “One of the other guides at work was so devout to Poseidon that he was granted the ability to breathe underwater. It only works in the Realms, of course, but..."

"It is handy." he completed the thought.

"Yeah. For him, at least."

"What are you hoping to get?" Alex asked.

"Hoping? Nothing. I'd have to perform extra services for Athene, and as yet, I haven't been in the right place at the right time." I said. "Although I can't really say no when I'm asked, because that would be exceptionally bad form."

"Yep, I doubt a god would like that."

"And of course, there are the negatives to getting marked."

"Negatives?" Alex asked.

"There are three main ones. First, this-" he holds the Marked hand up. "-really tends to piss off alot of contemporary religions." I paused. "Although that wasn't as big a problem for me, because I consider most original human religions to be a lot of show with almost no go."

"They don't like the competition." he joked.

"Nope. I'm officially a blasphemer."

"Hmm?"

"Being marked is blasphemy... you have the Pope, and you have all the fundamentalists... they still wield more than enough power to potentially make things uncomfortable for people like me."

Alex nodded. "Yep, that'd do it."

"I've been advised that gloves may not be a bad choice when needed. And I do keep a pair handy." I went back to the main topic. "Back to the negatives...second, part of my essence belongs to Athene."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Part of my spirit, soul, whatever you call it. That's where the aura that Dawn mentioned comes from."

"Ah, so if Athene is affected, you are to?"

"I...don't know, honestly. I don’t think there’s really any evidence about that.”

"Hmm, not fun."

"And third, I have to keep a bit of a better eye on my back for some of the more extreme followers of Athene's enemies."

"Ah, yes." Alex nodded. "Zealots, good fun those people."

"So if Loki catches up with me, they may not be able to mark me again, but there's still plenty of other ways they can make me more than uncomfortable."

"Hmm ... like what?"

"Well, any given thing they did in the middle ages..." I shuddered a bit.

"Ah ... nasty."

"Yes..." And I’m willing to bet Nkosi, as an agent of Bast, took this interpretation pretty seriously.

Alex shifted the topic again. "Hmm, ever had any close scrapes?"

"Howso?"

"In all the years that you've been adventuring, have you had any close calls?"

I reflected. "For one, I'm just over a year, actually. But yes, I've had times where I've thought I was going to die, yes. More than I expected."

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. "A year?

"But yeah, I've had close calls. I've never been seriously injured myself, but I've had some really close ones.” Bloody gorgon. "Not routinely, but it does happen."

Alex nodded. "Not good for busness. But I guess we are all aware of the risks..? About risks...stormwings. If I do come across one that isn't as nice as the last pair, what's the best thing to do?"

"Run like hell." I bluntly stated.

Alex grinned. "A tactic after my own heart. I guess they wouldn't fare too well in woods and brush."

"Woods, nope. Brush, they’ll just cut you out of. And some have been reported to fire feathers like bullets..."

The grin faded. "Great..."

"Just saying."

He took it well. "It's better that I know anyway." he said.

"On a side note... don't tell Blossom about my idea, ok?" I requested.

Alex nodded. "I won't, Selene is everything to her." Pause. "Any other nasty critters I should watch out for?"

I shrugged a bit. "We probably won't meet a powerful gorgon...I'd be mainly concerned for things like chimeras or maybe a gryphon. But we made about 14 miles today, so we only have 6 to go tomorrow."

Alex twitched a bit at the mention of chimeras.

"Chimeras aren't as big an issue if you take proper precautions. They're similar to black bears." I explained.

"Though definitely shoot-on-sight monsters."

"It's usually better to let them be, actually. If you don't have a reason for them to mess with you, they'll generally leave you alone." And a lot of them learn their lessons about human weapons right fast.

"Jumpy people with high powered rifles confuse the issue.

“Well, we don't have any high powered rifles here." I reminded.

"So we play it safe." Alex nodded.

"Yeah." I paused. "If I may speak frankly?"

"Of course."

I took a breath and explained. "We're not particularly well armed, and I have only marginal combat training myself, and I'm probably better than both of you. We don't want any fights we can avoid, which is why I paid instead. Please try and get this through the Blossom.”

Alex nodded. "I'll reimburse you if I can."

I waved a hand dismissively. "No, it's part of the job. Save your money in case we make that trip to Athens."

"Okay." He grinned. "But don't be surprised if I do a favour for you."

“Ok, if you're sure."

“I'd feel guilty if I didn't." Alex grinned. “What’s your life like, when you aren’t out here with tourists?”

"Well, I live in Lecce. Right now. Apartment with another guide..."

"Girlfriend?"

"No, no. The apartment is assigned by my employer." My girlfriend was sleeping a little ways away.

"I'm not meaning to pry but do you have a girlfriend?" Alex continued.

"I do."

"That's good. Hope she isn't too worried."

I shook my head. "No, no. She knows it's part of the job."

"She doesn't mind you keeping company with Dawn?"

"Nope. Dawn's a mutual friend." It’s true from a certain point of view!

Alex nodded. "Okay. Though she is kinda attractive in a weird avian way,” He paused. “I hope dawn finds a good guy, she deserves it."

Heh. "She does."

Alex looked thoughtful for a moment. "Dawn talked about an animal spirit, so the Americas also have their own realms?"

I shook my head. “There are three major realms. There’s minor realms that sprinkle across areas like the western Americas."

"Major minor?" he joked.

I continued. "The major realms are Egypt, Greece, and Scandinavia, for their appropriate mythologies. There's spotty zones in India and North America, parts of Africa and South America. Those are the minor realms. They’re usually transient and there’s not much, if any, forcemarking or such there.”

He nodded. "Less powerful, less distinct gods."

"Yeah."

After that explanation, Alex fell silent. But it was close to his time to sleep, so I waved him off to bed, saying I’d wait the period in between out by myself. Dawn was up next and I wanted some time alone with her.

{{seperator|k}}

I was waiting by the fire when Dawn came on duty. Once we got settled in, she said, “You take me to the nicest places.” She had her back to me, to not become night-blind from the fire.

"Heh, thanks. Just figured you could help me out, and again, thanks for this afternoon." I said.

"Usually it's the shit we come after that's fucked up rather than the shit we escort, but..." Dawn giggled lightly. "Eh, keeps it interesting."

"Yeah. They've got a fun story, talked to Alex the past few hours."

"How'd that go?"

"It went well. He's not as green as he lets on, he's just green to this place. That, or he's completely self-deluded, but I think we saw convincing evidence that that's not the case."

"We did?"

"You saw him change, so did I..." I shrugged a bit. We weren’t gonna get better evidence than that.

"Doesn't necessarily indicate experience.” Dawn noted.

"Yeah, true...But it does make his story a bit more believable. Otherwise I'd be seeing if we could get him committed on the way back."

"Fair that." Dawn said quietly.

"In any case...they're connected to those other new people around on the reports..." I took a breath. "This is background info to a question I have, so please don't cut me off."

"Go ahead." She nodded.

"One of their friends, a Nick Snider, is connected to that Nkosi that's connected to Bast. Apparently, the guy crossed Bast, and they're looking if Selene is willing to help." I explained.

Dawn grimaced. "Talk about a case of barking up the wrong tree..."

"Hmm? Yeah, I said I didn't know if Selene would deign to interfere..." I paused, suddenly uncertain. "I...was wondering... you think they'd have a better chance with Athene?"

"Doubt it." she stated. "You should know by now, Nate... You don't ask what the gods can do for you. You ask what you can do for the gods."

"I know. But they, apparently, aren't quite aware of that yet." I shrugged a bit. "In any case, the idea's out there to them now, so I may be making an Athens trip right before our own trip to Athens. No idea... It really depends on what they're able to afford, of course."

"What are they actually trying to /do/?" Dawn asked.

"Well, Alex said Nick and Nkosi were the same person, now they're not...they're out to find a cure of some sort."

"Cure for what exactly?"

"The...splitting, or alteration, or whatever." I said, feeling stupid.

"Ambitious..." Dawn trailed off.

"Yeah, I know." I sighed. "That's one reason Athene came to mind, honestly. Because Nkosi's a follower of Bast, and I know that Athene and Bast are in conflict."

"Well... In about the same way that the Nazis and Chinese were in conflict. The whole enemy of my friend is my enemy schtick."

I nodded. "Guess we'll see, though..."

"If they keep us on that long," she reminded me.

"Yeah." I paused to change the subject. "Well...anything you wanted to bring up?"

"Nah. Just... Watch yourself with those stormwings...I know you remember the last time you tangled with them."

That I did. "Once I pay the other half, they aren't going to be allowed to follow us."

"I smell a rat. Not used to coming in here with groups this weak."

"I'm edgy myself... I gave a rather blunt evaluation to Alex."

"Mm?" Dawn said, distractedly.

"We're not well-armed, and I've got only marginal combat experience, and given the looks of things, I'm better than both of them."

"We'll just have to travel fast, and advise tagging along with a group on the way back." she resolved.

"That'll work." I smiled slightly. "Alex said he hoped you found a good man. That you deserved it."

Dawn giggled a bit, and then laughed.

"Yeah, although I didn't actually make any noise. I just said I agreed."

"That's rich."

"Well, maybe it's already happened..." I joked.

"Never know."

"Guess not." I said.

"And maybe I'll just have to steal you away when we drop the kids off for a little arrival party of our own." Dawn turned back to grin at me, eyes shut.

I chuckled. "Make sure we're either not going to Athens, or we're done with our first trip there, before you do that."

"Why's that?"

"So we don't have an awkward situation with them."

"Do you think they can afford to hire us to Athens? Or are you making something personal out of this?" Dawn inquired.

"I don't know if they can afford it. If they can't, I'll decide that then. Although, it would be cheapest to just extend this trip if they have the money and drop a message for RI."

"Either way, I go where you go."

"Thanks." I smiled. “Always can use the help.”

Alex mumbled in his sleep and shifted, then rolled over and sat up. "Huh. Is it morning yet?"

"No, not yet." I said with a glance in his direction.

"Damn insomnia, I guess you get that when you're raccoon part of the time."

"Morning, Kiddo,” Dawn said

I chuckled. "Maybe."

Alex looked to Dawn. "Hey. The early bird catches the worm." he chuckled.

"Very funny.", Dawn intoned dryly.

"Sorry, I can't help it." He grinned. "I give you full authorization to make coon jokes in front of me."

"Eh. Takes the fun out of it." Dawn said.

Alex nodded. "So, Nathan's told you all about us?"

"Some, admittedly."

"That's good, you need to know what you're getting yourself into." Alex said cheerfully. Quick waker, that one.

"You say this two days into a quest." Dawn noted.

"Indeed." Alex said,

"That's not a compliment, Kiddo." Dawn said.

Alex nodded. "I'd rather not be in this situation either. But if I went around claiming I was an alien all the time I would get a probe shoved up my arse sooner than later."

Dawn shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind." Dawn said. "Nathan, hun, if he's up, I'm gonna go lie down again."

"Sure, if you want, Dawn." Oh crap. "Although I'll get you up soon; my turn's on the way." I said.

"Sleep tight." Alex noted.

Dawn laid down on her ground pad. "Bastard." She joked to me, and went back to sleep.

{{seperator|k}}

I looked to Alex as Dawn fell back asleep.

He glanced back. "Hey, I’m on shift again." he joked.

"Yes, yes you are."

Alex nodded. "So you've been interrogated by Dawn?"

I shook my head. "Not interrogated. We just chatted."

"Seen or heard any scary beasties?"

"Not yet."

“Good." He paused, then joked, "I'm glad to lend a pair of excellent human eyes to the watch."

I took it in the spirit intended. "Heh. Thanks."

"And while we're on a roll you are a damn sneaky bastard too." Alex said with a friendly grin.

"Howso?"

"I may be going out on a limb a bit but I assume your relationship with Dawn extends beyond that of a working one," Alex guessed.

I paused. "Maybe."

"So you and Dawn are slightly more than just friends."

"Yes, although that came after the working relationship," I admitted. I wasn’t required to say the latter part, but there was no point to hide it.

Alex nodded. “I'll keep it quiet if you want me to."

I shrugged. “It isn't a huge secret, even outside the realms."

Alex eyed me questioningly for a moment.

"Yes?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing."

I got where he was going. "No, we haven't done that yet."

He chuckled a bit. "Use a bedroom, far more comfortable."

"Can we change the subject?" This was getting uncomfortable.

"No problemo." he nodded. "So, do you have any more questions about me. It's your turn I guess."

I thought. "Well, not directly about you, but...more about this Nick/Nkosi issue. I can't tell what's going on here. He crossed Bast, and now...there's two of them?"

"Well, from what he told me Bast actually quite liked him. She has a thing with felines, and wanted to keep him but somehow they worked out a deal and Nick went more or less scot free while Nkosi stayed with Bast." Alex explained.

"Ok..."

"Yeah, it's kinda vague."

"Anything else you know, or...? Why's he want to go back on the deal?" I asked

"I think he had given up on his old life. But now that we're around..." Alex trailed off.

"...ah." I brought forth the bad news. "Well...Dawn doesn't think you'll have much luck. With Selene, or Athene."

Alex nodded. "I can understand that, we can only hope for the best."

"If nothing happens with Selene, I'm willing to go on to Athens, but..." I trailed off, hoping Alex caught the hint.

"You're technically a mercenary to put it bluntly. I'll check with Blossom when she wakes up."

"I don’t like that word, but it gets the point across. If you can't afford it, tell me, and I'll give it some thought."

"Thanks, we wouldn't even have gotten half this far without you two."

I shrugged a bit. "That's the job. Glad I took the job over what I wanted to do at first when I turned 18."

"And that was?" Alex inquired.

"Go Realmwalking, in an adventuring party. With a friend."

"Don't you already do that?"

"I do, but as a job now, rather than a vacation. And...my friend didn't come home." I explained.

Alex frowned. "Ah."

"As said. If you can't afford it, I'll give it some thought. You're an interesting bunch, and it does fit with my code somewhat, so..."

"Thanks."

I glanced up at the stars, just gazing for a bit. “I can't show you much in the dark, but tomorrow I could show you a few ways you can orient yourself."

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, never could really figure that out."

"Well, I can show you one method right now."

"Please do."

I nodded. "You'll have to come over here." Alex carefully crept over to not wake anyone. I took his head and hand gently and pointed them towards the Little Dipper. “See those seven stars?”

"Yes, the bright ones?"

"Yeah. See the brightest one? That's Polaris, the North Star. It's visible over the entire northern hemisphere of the planet, and it barely moves; it doesn't perfectly show where geographic north is, but it's damn close."

"Handy." Alex understated.

"Immensely. It's been used for navigation for millenia."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I let him go. "And so if you ever get lost, you can use that to get your bearings. Even more accurately than the sun. Or a compass, for that matter... the only thing that's truly better than Polaris is GPS, and that doesn't work in the realms."

"You can navigate by the sun? But it moves." Alex asked.

"You can't really navigate that well by the sun without special tools, no. But you can orient yourself. Contrary to popular knowledge, the sun doesn't always rise at perfect east and set at perfect west. But you can use the general idea to orient yourself. Once you have east or west, you can get the other three from there.”

"Aah, that simple. Thought you had some smart tracker way of using the sun or something."

"No, not really." I shook my head.

The topic shifted again. "Hmm, just to sidetrack a bit, you mentioned a fourth major realm earlier. Did the others all appear at the same time?" Alex asked.

"More or less. 2001."

"And how long ago was that?"

"19 years... people aren't eager for another realm to open because one, they don't know where it would be located, two, how heavy the evacuation would need to be, and three, how bad the commerce effects would be."

"Yeah, it would have a serious effect if one of them opened over a large commerce or industrial region."

"Like last time, the Greek peninsula was a major economic center, for just one of the three. And it blocked trade out of the Black Sea... there's only one reason the idea of a fourth realm is even floating around, and I would be talking to one of the people who are that reason."

Alex chuckled nervously. "I never wanted to be a celebrity."

"Well, not like you had a lot of choice in the matter."

"Nope. And I'm afraid that I am worth a lot to some people. Hell. If some nutcase got it into his head that we were actually actively ushering in the coming of a fourth realm... but I guess that those stormwings are our biggest worries for now." he said.

"Yeah. We may shadow another group back."

"Those birdies wouldn't be too happy about that."

"I still have to pay. But it'd be for mutual safety."

"Caravaning always works."

“That's the idea."

"We should keep that in mind if we go to Athene." Alex noted.

"Athens is on the coast. So it's not a long trip once you're off the boat."

"Ah, good. I don't like the idea of trekking across this." Alex waved to the surroundings. "For days on end."

"No, no. If we go to Athens, it'll be by boat first."

Alex paused and looked around again. "You know, all this excitement and adventure can be fun at times."

"Why do you think I keep the job?" I smiled slightly.

"Aside from the dragon hordes and hot harpy chicks, the getting shot at is the fun part?"

"No, that's the part I could skip once in awhile."

Alex nodded. “Though I've heard that some people like that too..."

"I'm sure, but it's not particularly safe. Or sane."

“I was worried about it when I saw the border out of Bast's realm."

"I don't believe I have seen that, myself." I led.

"Troops on either side lined up behind fortifications. Jumpy and ready for war at any moment."

“That's been tried before."

"Hmm? How would that work?"

"Soldiers going into the realms are quickly trounced once their weapons cease to function. Similarly, realm inhabitants are no match for modern weaponry." I explained.

"So basically it degrades of two sides waiting for the other to advance." He interpreted.

"More or less, yes. Some countries have formed realm-operation military units since then, but they’re untested so far.”

"Nasty." Alex understated.

"This was why Nkosi raised some red flags when he left the realms. It would've been exceptionally easy for a follower of an enemy of Bast to simply pick him off with a good sniper rifle and a dash of luck."

Alex nodded. "Which is also one of the reasons I don't want to pick sides."

"I can understand... although generally, unless it's all-out war, followers of different gods can get on decently amicably."

"Then I also just don't like the idea of gods."

"Difficult to deny them when they actually exist and walk the earth." I pointed out.

"I don't, I just don't like the idea of worshipping someone. That's why I don't like celebrity fans."

"Well...you may be talking to the wrong person." I pointed out.

Alex paused. "Ah yeah, sorry."

I shrugged. "Not a problem, just saying."

"My big mouth'll get me killed some day." Alex noted.

"Then learn to keep it a bit less open." I advised.

He chuckled. "Yeah. Walking up to a god and saying something like that would be suicide."

"Depends who. You might get off with a stern warning."

"The stern warning could be worse than suicide.”

"Depends, yes."

"Depends on how creative the god is I guess." He paused, then sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure how I'm going to do this." Alex didn’t look happy.

"Petitioning the gods?"

"Yep."

"Well...as Dawn's told me more than a few times, you don't ask what the gods can do for you, you ask what you can do for them. So...I would guess that the best chance you would have would be to try and spin it more than a politician spins an unprovoked invasion." I guessed.

"Ah, great..."

"I've never petitioned the gods, so I wouldn't know." I admitted.

"Well, information is better than no information at all."

"Of course, they may be able to see right through that. I don't know."

Alex nodded. "My instinct was to be completely frank."

"That's another option."

"Blossom'll also be adamant on doing that."

"Then by all means, try it."

"Okay, I will."

"I'm not sure about how Athene will react if you petition her. Because she doesn't have much contact with Bast." I shrugged.

"Hopefully we'll have a better chance with you."

I paused, and nodded. "Maybe, we'll see, won't we?"

Alex smiled. "Yup."

"The relationship with Bast is more the fact that Athene and Bast place emphasis on wildly different values."

"Athene on truth justice, honor and whatnot, and Bast on cats."

"Not just that, but...eh. It's a working theory."

Alex nodded and changed the subject. "Hmm, did you know Dawn before she became a Harpy?"

I shook my head. "No. I didn't."

"Can't be easy, at least I look human most of the time."

"Lecce is about as far as she ever goes from the Realms."

"Then at least you're not the strangest thing people have seen."

"Nope."

"Dawn was one of my regulars at first." I explained. "The powers that be in the company try to keep you routinely with a few people."

"Easier to work with someone you know?"

"Yeah, and it's always refreshing to have a friendly face along. Or someone who can give you the vote of confidence to pick up the pieces where they fell..."

"Or at least someone you know."

"Few months ago, on a somewhat advanced run, I was the secondary guide. For staying behind and tending the camp while the other guide went trolling for swag with them."

"At least nobody is trying to tear out your guts on that job."

"Yeah, well...they got in over their head. The primary guide got petrified. The effect to morale was instant and devestating."

Alex shuddered. "Ah."

"If Dawn hadn't been there to give me confidence in myself, and give them confidence in my ability to get them out...dunno what would've happened."

"Sucky as it sounds but friends are important. People truly do need friends, don't they?"

"They do, yes." People need others to tell them when they're wrong and to lean on when they're having trouble."

Alex nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

"I'm just saying it like I see it, man. Take it for what it's worth, but I can't guarantee it'll always be right."

Alex grinned. "At the very least it's a shove in the right direction."

"Well, thanks."

Alex continued smiling. "My pleasure. It's good to talk about that."

"The issue? I'm sure...but now, I gotta get some sleep. Go wake up Dawn, she’ll be your companion the rest of the shift." I headed over to my mat and clocked out before my head even hit the pillow.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's_Grove|Selene's Grove]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Departing

2013-09-13T11:39:52Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Departing}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The next day we met at the docks. I had everything ready, the backpacks ready for me and Alex, food, everything. We were ready to go. Dawn was there with me as I stood there with our gear, watching Alex and Blossom approach. I’d already paid the boatman for the two of us and gotten our tickets.

“You both ready?” I asked as they arrived.

Alex nodded. "Ready to rumble. Hey, who's the new addition?" he said, looking to Dawn.

Blossom smiled at Dawn and waved shyly. “A friend of Nathan’s."

"Dawn's the person I asked you about,” I explained. "Dawn, Alex and Blossom.”

Dawn nodded her head once. "Hello."

"Hi, it’s nice to meet you." Blossom said.

"Pleased to meet you Dawn." Alex said, holding out his hand to shake.

Dawn didn’t miss a step. "Sorry Alex, I don't do that anymore."

Alex pulled his hand back. "Ah ... anymore?"

Blossom smiled "You’re very pretty." she complimented Dawn.

"Don't worry about me. Let's get you folks underway." Dawn stated. She turned to me. "Nathan, you've got lead, I'm just a tagalong."

"Sure thing." I grabbed the stuff and hauled it up to the boarding plank. I flashed my ticket and waited for Alex and Blossom to cover their fares.

The boat was an old-fashioned caravel. Small, but about the highest tech you could get in realm. Just a quick boat for in-and-out of realm trips. We wouldn’t be the only ones. They had a radio for emergency, but of course that wouldn’t work once we got in realm. Still, I’d been on this boat before. Nice, fast trip in realm.

I lugged the gear aboard and set it down in the main hold. Given the shortness of the trip, there weren’t really guest rooms. Just a main hold, and some hammocks spread out. Nothing really elaborate. I stowed the gear in a compartment and locked it, and then returned to my group.

I sat down in a chair as we waited for the boat to leave.

Alex took a seat next to me. "Hmm. Nathan, I hope it isn't too personal, but that tattoo...?"

I shrugged a bit. "No, it's not too personal. I'm a devout follower of Athene."

He nodded, looking a bit worried.

Blossom was looking at Dawn a bit as she sat down in her own chair. For now she was just listening.

Dawn settled into one of the hammocks near our seats. "Our ride's about a day long... Hope you aren't the types to get seasick."

Alex grinned. "We're about to find out."

"I've never been on a boat..but I don’t think I get seasick." I decided, given obvious documentation that Blossom had been on a boat before with the RAF, that her memory wasn’t very good. Extra watching, this one.

"Keep a bucket handy.", Dawn advised.

“Why, what happens?" Blossom inquired.

“You get sick." Alex stated.

"What type of sick?" Blossom, again.

"Vomit type sick." Alex explained.

Blossom finally got it. "oh.." she smiled a bit, like she was remembering a good memory. Weirded me out a bit, I’ll admit.

Alex took out something and stared at it. Looked like a custom lighter.

"Do you ever fly Dawn?" Blossom asked, changing the subject.

"Not out here in the scientific realm. I'll be able to fly once we're in Greece." Dawn explained, patiently.

"What? Why’s that?" Blossom seemed confused.

I glanced at Dawn with a “See? Green” look.

Dawn returned the look. "Uhm... Honey, I break the laws of aerodynamics."

Blossom looked a bit confused.

Alex spoke up before she could say anything. "The realms are magical right?" He was staring at his lighter.

"I sure hope so." Dawn said. She’s more blunt than me at times, and that’s one of the traits I admire, is being able to just hammer the point home without trying to be nice about it. "That lighter got much plastic in it?"

Alex paused, then shook his head. "Umm, don't think so."

"Here's how it works... Inside the realms, explosions don't happen, electricity doesn't flow, and synthetic compounds break down in an awful hurry." Dawn elaborated.

Alex frowned slightly, holding the lighter tighter. He didn’t know what it was made of. “Ah.”

"Outside the realms, magic doesn't happen, and all the laws of science have to be obeyed." Dawn paused. "There was a reason we had you wear cotton clothes instead of polyester."

"So what if..someone was magically made a certain way." Blossom asked, seeming a bit nervous.

"Like I was? They deal with it." Dawn cut to the point.

"Deal with it how?" Blossom asked, pushing the question line a bit too far.

"However." Dawn shrugged.

A pair of minotaurs and a few other human groups settled in as we got underway, the telltale sound of the engines kicking in as we started to leave. Of course, the engines won’t work once we get past the realm border, but they’re good for moving up until then.

"That doesn't answer my question." Blossom pouted.

"It all depends on the person, hon." Dawn took a bit of a teaching tone.

Alex tucked away his lighter. "You just live with it, Blossom."

Blossom nodded, accepting the answer for now and falling silent.

{{seperator|k}}

We arrived the next day in the Gulf of Corinth. Once we were near, I got called up to the deck to help watch for any marauding monsters. Dawn took off and circled overhead for a bit, seeming to be glad to be back in realm. In a way, I envied her flight, but I tried to keep my mind on my task.

Blossom watched Dawn in awe, closing her eyes after a moment and looking lost in her own world. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to be rather significantly more relaxed once we were in realm borders, for some reason. I’d have to ask him about that later; most people get more edgy going in realm, not relaxed.

After we docked, I helped haul the stuff off, and got the packs distributed between me, Alex, and Blossom. I glanced at the sun; it was early evening. We had 20 miles to go, and we’d make no good time today, so I led them towards the nearest inn I liked.

It was pretty busy here in Corinth, in that rustic realm way. The city was built into the ruins of the original, high-tech Corinth that was abandoned 19 years ago. The weather was warm and humid; standard Med summer.

Blossom rubbernecked around while following "What’s this place called?"

"This is Corinth." I said.

Blossom took a swig of water and nodded to me. Dawn landed nearby.

"We should check in for the evening, and get started early tomorrow. Nighttime is dangerous," I said.

Alex nodded at Nathan's remark. He turned to Dawn as she landed and tried to make small talk. "Hmm, Dawn?" He chats. "You said you didn't shake hands anymore. What do you mean by that?"

Blossom glanced to Alex. "I think she meant she was human once..."

"Kiddo got it in one."

"I know how she feels." Blossom said offhand.

Alex browraised, mumbling something. "What happened?" he asked.

"Got myself caught by some of Echidna's monsters. Woke up with feathers and tits. That's how it goes,” Dawn elaborated with her inimitable style.

Alex shuddered a bit.

Blossom nodded. "I woke up as a human, i went from being 10 inches tall to this height."

"Blossom, shut up." Alex hissed, which got a glare in response.

"Hfff. Trade ya, Blossom,” Dawn commented.

"Make sure to remind me to keep the hell away from the gods ... oh wait..." Alex jokes.

It fell pretty flat. "Don't joke. You two aren't marked. Minions are going to be after you,” Dawn explained.

"That's why I said, don't get captured." I agreed. So very green.

Alex nodded. "Ah."

"Alright.." Blossom said.

I glanced at Dawn with a bit of curiosity as I led the three of them to an inn. It was built into what used to be a schoolhouse, so we got what used to be a classroom, subdivided into two rooms to sleep in. It was built for humans, so Dawn would be a bit uncomfortable, but it was the best they had available for us. Personally, a port warehouse hotel might’ve been better, but they were full up.

The auditorium area of the school had been converted to a tavern, so we hung out there for a bit. A few human teams seemed to be using this as a staging area. Of course, as we were in realm now, there were also satyrs, minotaurs, the odd centaur, elves, nymphs and others.

Blossom looked around as I paid, and exchanged a few words with Alex, closely watched by Dawn. Most of the locals were speaking Greek. Most of the hotel patrons were speaking English, but I picked out some Italian, French, and German. Some group even were speaking some other language...maybe Korean or Vietnamese. I couldn’t tell. I got back to my group just as Blossom started wringing her tail and saying she needed some tea.

Dawn was the first to address the elephant in the room. "Question I got for you kids... Do you want to get yourselves marked to a god before we set out?"

"What..why?" Blossom looked confused.

"Perhaps because it's a good idea." Alex posited.

"Once you're marked of your own volition, nobody else can force a mark onto you." Dawn explained.

"I don't like the idea of that.." Blossom said, nervously.

Alex shook his head. "Me neither. I've been marked and whatnot way too much already."

Dawn tried again. "Think of it like a bank. If you choose somewhere to keep your money, then you're tied to that bank in slightly inconvenient ways. If you don't, then everyone knows you're walking around with your life savings in your pocket."

"I don't know what a bank is..." Blossom grumbled.

I sighed. This wasn’t going well. I tried to play Good Cop. "Let it go, Dawn...if they don't want to, then they don't want to."

"Yeah, I get it." Dawn gave up.

Alex wasn’t done, though. "How do these marks work? Are they tattoos only or is it something more?"

"Some use skin colours, some don't... But all of em are a little bit of an aura that everyone else can detect." Dawn elaborated. "I've got an Echidna aura, Nate here's got an Athene aura. I can sense his when I'm with him, he can sense mine."

"Can it be removed?" Blossom again.

"No." Dawn shook her head. "Not with anything even remotely approaching ease."

Alex nodded. "I know it's stupid but I really don't want to be bound to some god."

Dawn shrugs. "Neither did I,” she said, a bit ominously.

"No I don’t like it..even if i do worship Selene i don’t want to be bound to anything..." She sounded more like she was talking herself out of it than explaining to me.

"I'm sorry, but my .. soul ... is all that I really have left. I don't want to give it up on my own accord." Alex said with slight agitation.

I sighed mentally. The difficulty just went up again. "That's fine."

We spent a bit of time chatting, then retired to our room. I warned them that I would be getting them up early so we didn’t waste daylight. The further I could make it each day with these two, the better.

{{seperator|k}}

I woke up the next morning and got stuff situated, waking up my charges about a half an hour before the break of day. It was quite dark out, and Alex rubbed his eyes a bit, complaining that the sun wasn’t even up yet. I made sure they got up, and went to get the breakfast ordered and fill up on food. Dawn kept an eye on them while I did that. Blossom did some prayers.

Alex had an HUGE breakfast. I had to stop him eventually so that he’d still be able to move with us and not be in a food coma. Blossom ate pretty quietly and mostly just picked at her food...she was bothered by something. Alex checked if she was ok, and she said she was, even though it was clearly otherwise. SHe went out for some air, again, watched by Dawn. We’d discussed last night and the general rule we came up with was that neither of them was to be out of our field of view at any time.

And then we were off! We started down the remains of the roads and highways that were left behind when Realmfall occurred. They were pretty tore up and jagged by now, but it was still easier than roughing it. Just a bit of planning was needed, since the concrete tends to break in big chunks. Dawn was flying above to direct us and watch our route, and I was leading my two charges at a moderate pace. I coulda gone faster if I was by myself, but then I wouldn’t be getting paid.

"Well, I can't recommend the planning bureau here..." Alex remarks.

"Kinda hard to make roads when you can't get cement in." I pointed out.

"Asphalt too,” he nodded.

Blossom followed, not saying much, just lost in her own thoughts.

Every once in awhile, Dawn would come down to tell me of minor threat ahead. Oversize serpent or washed out road, usually. We diverted or waited as necessary as I watched the sky, impatient at the burning daylight. I kept them at a solid pace, though...we could cover 15 miles today.

We did have to take occasional breaks. Whenever Blossom started panting from the heat, I’d slow us down or have us take a break, and I made sure she got plenty of water. She didn’t complain about the exertion though. Quite the trooper. Alex, for his part, seemed to be holding up pretty well. Maybe he did a lot of hiking or such. He was clearly too relaxed like it was a vacation, but for a first timer, he at least was doing well with the physical demands.

We encountered some traffic, but it was other groups just going the other way. They were all civilized and so we exchanged small talk and went our ways. I was glad it was just visitors; I didn’t want to run into the stormwings that claimed this territory.

Everything was going smoothly, and...pretty much it all went fine up until early evening, when Dawn came in low and fast over the terrain, just appearing from behind a low ridge. The only reason for that was to decrease her visibility, so I was instantly on alert.

“Shit, Nate, COVER!” she yelled.

I looked for the nearest cover and quickly ushered everyone towards it. “Heads down, all.” I got Blossom and Alexei hidden with some trouble.

Not a moment too soon, either. Two large harpy-shaped creatures with filthy hair and metal feathers...stormwings...came into view; one from behind the ridge, the other over it. They were larger and stockier than Dawn, so less agile. But Stormwings still generally defeat harpies, because of their wings, which are like a series of razorblades.

"Aw crap, it was just starting to be such a nice day." Alex whined.

"Quiet!" I hisses back.

Blossom took out her miniature crossbow. "Shouldn't we help her?"

I shook my head. "Dawn'll be ok." I hoped.

The stormwings landed heavily on the path, blocking our way forward. One was male, the other female. Dawn looped back around towards us and our cover. The male said something in Greek to the female. I didn’t understand it.

Blossom growled a bit and leveled her crossbow at them, inadvertently giving away our position. Alex was trying to keep his gaze diverted, like the reflection of the sun off the metal feathers was blinding him.

I had my crossbow out and ready, but pointed at the ground.

The male spoke. "Eh, seems she don't agree. Well mate, figurin’ we'd drop in, aya? Yer little choppa's a good run, innit?" He had an accent, northeastern US. Almost certainly a forcemark.

"What do you want." Blossom demanded, trying to do my job. Fuck, not only were they green, they thought they were in charge here, too.

The stormwings moved in a bit closer. "C'mon now mate, ain't no needin fer the pointin' a the pieces..." The male pointed a wing at Blossom. "Ah, here we go. I like th'way this'un thinks."

Alex glanced to me from the corner of my vision.

Blossom stood up and stepped forward. "Leave us alone and go back to the skies.." she said with a hint of nervousness.

I gave Alex a reassuring nod and stood up, going to the front of Blossom. "We don't want any trouble."

"Well, li'l miss, me'n m'esteemed partna here were notin' that you seem t'have a bit of whatsay a manpowah shortage. Wouldn't be responsible of us to be leavin' innocent kiddies all lonesome, would it?" He said, a bit too charitably.

Blossom again tried to disrupt the negotiations. "We are in good hands..we do not need your help." she leveled her crossbow at the male.

"There's a crackin, yeah? See now... A fella's gotta live, so I'm meanin to conduct a little business here, that's all there's to it. Folks can be rude all on that, always assumin us stormies are meanin' violence." He gestures his textured-mirror wings emphaticly.

Dawn made a few low circles overhead.

"What kind of business.." Blossom asked?

I tried to push her crossbow down, echoing her sentiment. I needed to get in here as the primary negotiator. "What kind of business?"

"Yer headin' Selene's way, yeah?" the male asked. As if it wasn’t obvious, there’s little else in this direction.

Blossom let me, thank goodness. “Why do you ask?"

I nodded. "We are." *I* was in charge here and I had to assert it.

Blossom glared up at me, growling deeply from her throat. I ignored her.

"Well, maybe it ain't a realmwalker an' two kids going that way. Maybe it's a realmwalker, two kids, and two /stormwings/. Bit more impressive for wardin off who might come atcha." the stormwing proposed.

I heard a noise behind me like Alex hit the dirt, but I couldn’t afford to look back. Dawn could see what was happening and would alert me if it became critical.

I paused. "You make an interesting offer." I said. Gotta be diplomatic.

"What do you want in return?" Blossom said.

Both stormwings looked to Alex. "Somethin's wrong with yer buddy." the male noted.

Blossom looked back. "Alex!" she ran over to him. I didn’t look back, because two stormwings this close could kill me before I turned around. I breathed a mental sigh of relief that Blossom was out of the discussion now.

"I repeat the question. You have offered to accompany us; I wish to know what you desire in return." I said evenly.

"Just some cash, what any other workin' stiff wants. Nuff cash, we might even give you'n the kiddies a ride." Ok, this was getting bad. No rides on stormwings, that’s for sure. "Cuz trust me mate, we ain't near so bad as who's waitin' for ya further up. Though there is one thing you might help me with and I'd happily waive the fee."

“And what is that?” I inquired.

"In a bit of a bind at my temple, ain't far out of yer way, y'know... Couple good folks like yourselves could just put in a little word for me there that I ain't attacking anyone." he explained. No, just extorting them.

The female made a few remarks in Hellenic, gesturing with a wing behind me. So that’s why the male was doing all the talking. He answered in kind, but neither made a move. Mental note: Learn to speak Hellenic.

I weighed my options. The best option I had for the moment was to try to avoid a fight. "You accompany us. On our way back, we will stop at your temple and clear your name."

Dawn shouted down. "Don't fall for it, Nathan." There was my out. "Two unique unmarked kids? No way in hell are they not slitting our throats and stealing off with ‘em."

"Guilty until proven innicint, I'm seein." the male looked a bit annoyed and hurt.

Blossom walked back over. "We decline your offer, please leave...now."

I glanced to Dawn, then the stormwings. At least I had an out now, while still seeming reasonable. "I cannot evaluate your intentions without putting my charges at risk. If you desire, I will pay you, but we do not require your company." There, a fairly even deal for them.

Blossom looked at Nathan "Are you not working for me..." she asked in a whisper. I held up a finger. My job was to protect her.

"Well... We'd feel terrible if something were to happen to you, but we'll put the word out that you don't need harassing. At least I won't be goin' home with empty talons to the wife'n'chicks, eh?" the male said.

I nodded, then dug out my cash. Coins, in large denominations, counting out into a bag. "Thank you for your time. We apoligize, and I will see about stopping at your temple on the way back."

"Bout a thousand Ceasars will keep the stormwings out of your skies. 500 now, 500 when you're leavin' our territory." ‘Ceasars’ is an occasional realm slang term for “Euros.”

I balked. That was more than the boatride for the four of us! “800.”

"It's a standard fee, fella, this ain't India." the male said with the hint of a threat.

I sighed. I had no other options. "Fine." I counted it out and tossed the pouch over..

Blossom got in the way again. "None.." she voiced as she leveled her crossbow "i suggest you leave."

"Blossom!" Lex shouted, his voice sounding...different.

"Blossom, please leave this to me." I said, firmly and strongly.

The male moved in to check the cash pouch, and took it in his foot. “You're in Athene's club, we know you're good for the remainder on exit. Goes against your code to renege, donnit?"

"It does." I confirmed. No point in trying to weasel out.

The male nodded. "Be seein' ya round, Walker." And then the two stormwings took off and started away, leaving behind a few metal feathers from the takeoff. Blossom promptly reached down and picked up the feathers.

I breathed a sigh of relief for getting out of this, as Dawn took their place by dropping down to the road. I looked over to Dawn.

“Damn.” Alex still sounded different...and now that I finally turned around, I could see why. Shock crossed my face as I saw an anthropomorphic raccoon wearing Alex’s clothing. Tail and all. What the fuck? Did he get marked while my back was turned? Were they that organized, they had a priest with them? No...he didn’t have a mark on him, I couldn’t feel one. Who marked to raccoon anyways...?

I swallowed my shock, to ask the obvious question. “Are you ok, Alex?!” The shock was obvious in my voice.

Dawn seemed to be about the same, reaction wise. “Holy shit...”

Alex looked at me and nodded. "Yes, I'm okay."

Blossom tucked the stormwing feathers into her belt. Souvenier, I guess.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about ... this." Alex said a bit embarrassed.

I relaxed a bit, as I tried to work this one more wrinkle into my plans. After a few moments, I took a deep breath and said, "...ok. Anything else I should know about?"

"The /only/ way I know for you to do that and not be marked is if you're a North American animal spirit... And that you sure as hell ain't." Dawn said, awestruck.

"He's a shifter..." Blossom said, like it explained everything.

Alex nodded. "Not one of the most gifted ones either."

"How the /fuck/ do you do that without drawing on divine magic?" Dawn, again with her style.

I let her ask the questions. They were the same ones on my mind, anyways.

"We’re not from here, or any of the realms." Blossom stated simply. So they WERE from a pocket realm.

I tried to regain composure. We couldn’t stand here, and we could have the discussion on the way. "Ok. Let's get started again, and you explain a bit more on the way."

"I'd heard that, but... Hearin' it and seeing the evidence are two wholly different things." Dawn said, still awestruck.

Alex nodded. "Okay. Blossom, will you put away those feathers, I need to shift back." So...shiny things made him shift? How ironic.

"Careful with those feathers, too... People make knives out of those things." Dawn added.

Blossom blinked and shrugged, putting the feathers inside her robes.

Alex took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and then started shifting back. By the gods, he actually could shift. Man, how impressive.

But we could discuss this over the campfire more. I got them going again so we could get to a good campsite out of stormwing territory, or in good cover, by nightfall. Cooked dinner, rested my muscles...we’d make Selene’s grove tomorrow and then the first half of the danger would be over. Lex offered to take first shift of watch with Dawn, so I got some of my sleep right after I ate, mind awash with the implications of Alex’s shifting.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_the_Clients|Meeting the Clients]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire_Chat|Campfire Chat]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients

2013-09-13T11:38:08Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeting the Clients}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was about a week later, setting the date to be July 17th, 2020. I was sitting on Dawn’s couch snuggled up with her, watching some television. It wasn’t really very GOOD television, but it was a good excuse to spend time with Dawn. I think we were probably paying more attention to each other than we were to the show, anyways.

I was wearing a polo and slacks and carrying my cell; I was on reserve right now so I could be called in anytime, so it was best I looked presentable. Which was a good thing, given it wasn’t even an hour after I got over there that the phone rang. I pulled it out with my free arm and checked the number. Administrative Operations, read the caller ID. Great, a job. Not that I dislike my work, just... it was a bad time. Guess that’s how it always works.

“Excuse me, Dawn. Work.” I put the TV on pause as Dawn snugged me with her wing a bit tighter. She kept quiet, though. “Hello, Nathan Renfrew.”

“Nate, it’s Adminops. Up for a job in two days? Corinth run, weeklong babysit.” It was a voice I didn’t recognize. That’s not surprising; adminops shuffles lots of employees and temps in and out, especially for the phones.

“That doesn’t sound too bad. Nothing better to do; any more details before I sign on?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “It’s... a little different. Standard procedure; come on down to the admin building and you’ll get briefed and meet the client.”

“Sure thing, how soon do you need me? Now?” My suspicion was raised slightly. A little different, how?

“Client's asking to meet her guide, buddy, you know the drill. Are you available, or you wanna put it off to tomorrow?"

I sighed. So much for an afternoon with Dawn. "I can be there in 10 minutes. See you then."

I waited for them to hang up, and put my phone back once they did. I didn’t wanna get a rep for putting things off while I was trying to break into the big leagues, so unfortunately that meant less time with Dawn today.

Dawn looked over. “Go ahead.”

"Corinth run. One week. Leaves in two days, I agreed." I paused. “Sorry.”

Dawn shrugged a bit. “Go on then. Maybe see if they don't mind a tagalong."

"Ok. I'll try and make it back here later today, but you know how that sometimes turns out. I'll check about the tagalong." I smiled weakly, and let myself out.

It was a quick jog to the Operations building from the flat, so I made good time. After a year in realm, I’m probably in the upper quartile of human fitness, and definitely can keep a good pace at most aerobic activities. I slowed down as I approached the building to prevent being out of breath, and headed in. I got waved into one of the offices by a secretary who was on his phone, and headed inside.

When I entered, the ops coordinator was at his usual desk...along with a short fox anthro sitting in a chair nearby. Hey...wasn’t that...? No, it couldn’t be, could it? I shook my head and nodded to her as she waved a bit shyly, and looked to the admin. “Afternoon, sir. Where’s my client?”

“She’s right there, Nate. Blossom, Nathan. Nathan, Blossom.”

I looked over and walked over, offering her a hand. I hope she hadn’t caught my gaffe there. “Nathan Renfrew. Pleased to meet you; you’ll be my client?”

The fox giggled a bit as she shook my hand. “Yes...just call me Blossom, and yes we’ll be working together.

It wasn’t the worst name I’d ever heard, but my shock was probably apparent on my face. I quickly tried to mask it. “Alright then, Blossom; will this be your first time realmwalking?”

Blossom nodded. "Yesss... is it dangerous?"

Oh god. She was green. Or worse, one of those romantics who ignored the danger. Green would be better, though... still a weeklong trip to with a greenie? This would be fun. “Moderately, yes. Very exciting, though...my job will be to keep you out of danger.”

“That’s very nice of you," Blossom said as she stood. "I will try not to get in your way."

I smiled, trying to mask my worry. She was NAIVE. "Sure. You want to have lunch, or take a tour of our facilities?"

"Sounds like fun." Blossom nodded.

"Ok, then. How about a tour, and then supper?"

Blossom paused. "Do you mind if i pick up a friend first?"

"No, not at all." Probably sent a party member to get rooms or such. "I can wait here, or we can go get him together."

“Well, you'll be working with him too, so we might as well go together." She smiled at me. She was cute, I won’t argue that. The thing is that cute doesn’t get you too far in the realms.

"Ok. How many people are in your group?" Standard boilerplate. I nodded thanks to the ops coordinator as we left his office.

She turned and started heading outside. "Just me and Alex.”

"Will it be his first time as well?" As we got outside, she turned and headed towards the train station.

She nodded at the question. "Yes.”

“Alright. I'll wait on the questions until we catch up with him.

Blossom smiled again. "Alright."

{{separator|k}}

We arrived at the train station a bit later, and Blossom headed over towards a guy who was about my height, blond hair, blue eyes. He was looking around lazily, like he was a bit bored...probably been there awhile. I followed Blossom, figuring she knew who she was looking for.

As she approached him, she called out his name. “Alex, find anything?"

Alex nodded to Blossom. "Yeah, I'll show you later."

Blossom motioned to me. "This is Nathan; he's going to show us around and guide us to Luna."

"Nathan Renfrew. I'll be your realm guide." I offered Alex my hand. Luna? That’s the Roman term for Selene; it’s seldom used except by romantics, but she was green enough that I guess it fit.

Alex took my hand and shook with a firm grip. "Alex, pleased to meet you."

I smiled at him. He seemed a bit more sensible. "Same. I heard this'll be your first time in the Realms?"

Alex nodded. "More or less."

OK. Both new, but still, guy seemed to have a better head. "Just looking for a brief vacation then, given your destination?"

Alex glanced to Blossom, like he was expecting her to answer... which she did. "”We’re just looking to see Luna about something."

Ok, still a babysit run. "Sure, sure. I understand."

I looked back to Alex. "As I was telling Blossom, I can take you on a tour of the facilities, and then we can have dinner."

Alex nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

Blossom took Alex’s hand. "Let’s go, then."

I started off, leading them. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time."

Blossom nodded "Alright.” She definitely was rubbernecking already, so I figured I’d have a lot of questions to answer.

I wasn’t disappointed. Blossom was absolutely FULL of questions about things, keeping me talking all the way to our first stop, which was the general supply store.

"This is where we keep most of our more basic gear. Tents, ropes, light sources, oil, other things. It's all available here, if you didn't bring it yourself." Yeah, I was pitching. I’m half expected to do so. I made sure to pay extra attention to Blossom and accommodating for her short stature, which was... easier to do these days, admittedly. She seemed a bit put off by the attention for some reason, so I tried to stop after a while.

Alex eyed a few of the tents. “Hmm. Mever been camping with a tent before ..." Wonderful.

Blossom one-upped him. "I've never been camping." I suddenly got a bad feeling about this whole run.

"Slept on Chuck's back a couple of times. That was interesting." Alex said to Blossom. Maybe Chuck was a centaur they knew or something. They exchanged some other banter I didn’t understand. Maybe some inside jokes. I didn’t inquire further.

Blossom turned back to me. “So, have you been to all the realms?"

I shook my head. "No, I've only worked in the Greek realm so far."

"So it will be your first time in Selene’s realm?"

"No, I've been there a few other times. It's a popular destination."

"Oh, really?" She seemed curious.

I nodded. "Popular getaway spot, yep."

"I could see why," she smiled.

Alex piped up. "Ah, that's good, we weren't looking for any excitement."

"Well, that'll be on the trip there,” I explained. I try not to keep any secrets from my customers.

Alex looked at me curiously. "Hmm?'

"It's more dangerous getting to Selene's realm than it is actually being there."

Blossom spoke up. “But you know how to get there safely, right?"

I smiled slightly. Shouldn’t be too hard. "That's my job."

“Good, I don’t want anyone hurt." Blossom stated.

Alex nodded, and eyed my mark. I glanced back at him, but I didn’t bring it up if he didn’t.

I took them next show them the weapons and armor areas. I had them wait briefly while I checked in on the status of my Heltan, making sure it could be ready in a few days for me. The armorsmith assured me it’d be ready and so I went back to my clients.

Blossom asked before I even got back. "What was that about?"

“I was just checking if they could get my new armor done by the time we leave," I explained.

Blossom nodded and set down a staff she’d been fiddling with. "I’m going to get some new clothes before we leave... some people seem... uneasy with me around."

I nodded to that. Might help hide her from the media, too. “It happens sometimes. Shouldn’t be a problem around the campus, though.”

"Only real men can handle a foxy lady," Alex joked.

Blossom rolled her eyes a bit at that, and then we headed out again. I took them out to a nice restaurant on the campus for dinner and conversation, so we could talk a bit more.

{{separator|k}}

We resumed the conversation after the food had been ordered and arrived, making some small talk before then. Blossom ordered a vegetarian meal, lots of salads, which I thought was odd, given her appearance. Alex ordered a steak and salad, and I got a steak as well. Nobody makes Italian food like the Italians, but I wanted something a bit cleaner tonight.

During the meal, I resumed talking business. "So. You wanted to leave in two days for your little getaway? Did you have any other questions?"

Blossom spoke first. "Should we get weapons before we leave?"

"That'd be a good idea. I personally always go armed, and there's no guarantee on what we will or won't be encountering." I was just assuming they’d be kinda naive now and was taking it in stride.

"I’m afraid I’m not trained in any weapons... I've never fought anyone before." Blossom admitted, a bit sheepishly.

"Hmm, I'm not too experienced with guns... nor with anything else really.” Alex agreed.

I hid my surprise, then stated simply. "Guns don't work in the realms."

Blossom seemed confused. "So what do we use?"

"We'll try and avoid monsters, but you should probably carry something just in case. A dagger or two, maybe. A staff. We can look into a spring rifle if you really want, but if you have no experience with guns, may as well not. Other options are swords, knives, maces, bows, crossbows, slings...

Alex frowned. "Great..."

"What would you recommend?" Blossom asked,

"I personally carry a crossbow and a dagger. It works pretty well for me. They don't require huge amounts of skill or strength." I elaborated.

Blossom nodded. “What do you think I should use?”

"I'd just recommend a knife. Its a useful tool. We'll try and avoid any fighting. Could get a solid walking stick, too.”

"Alright. I’ll pick up something tomorrow..when i shop for clothes.” Blossom said.

"And me?" Alex spoke.

Blossom started pushing her food around on her plate, what half was left of it. Something was bothering her, I could tell.”

"I'd say the same. If everything goes right, you won't have to use it."

Alex nodded, chewing on a mouthful of steak.

"We should get some sleep... Long day tomorrow." Blossom said to Alex.

I looked to her. "Are you nervous?"

She shook her head at me. “No,” she said, a bit too quickly. I decided not to press; their reasons were theirs to share or keep. “Thank you for the tour.” she said, standing. She bowed to me.

Alex suddenly stood up, knocking his chair over. He hurried off to the restroom, pushing people aside in his hurry. Maybe his steak wasn’t quite done; either way, he was gone before I could say anything. I looked back to Blossom

“Sure thing. Can I ask you a question before you go?"

“What’s that?"

"Would you mind if a friend of mine possibly came along? She'd be able to help us avoid monsters." There, I checked on the tagalong.

“Would it cost me anything extra?"

I shook my head. "No. Nothing." I’d gladly take the cut in my pay to get a second person to watch these people.”

“If you think we can trust her, it's fine." Blossom said, then grimaced. She said a bit too much and she knew it. I mentally filed it away.

“Ok. I’ll talk with her tonight.” I took the bill to cover it. “I'll get ready tomorrow for your trip. You can reach me at my cellphone if you need me.” I gave her my cell number.

Blossom nodded and looked to the bathrooms. "Alright, we will meet you at the agency." she said, obviously distracted.

"Alright. Is that all for tonight?"

She nodded again. "Yes, thank you for the tour."

I smiled to the fox. "Not a problem. I will see you either tomorrow or on the 19th."

"I will contact you tomorrow if you wish." She looked at me, tail swishing a bit behind her.

"Only if you need me. Have a good evening."

I paid the tab off and headed out, since I’d clearly spent my welcome for the evening and they wanted some privacy. Fine by me. I headed back to Dawn’s place, wanting to see if she was available yet. I knocked on the door a few times and waited for her to answer.

It didn’t take long before she got the door, twisting the low-set lever knob open with her foot. "Come on in, you." She stepped aside to let me enter.

"Sorry about that," I apologized, entering.

She closed the door behind me. "What for? We know it's part of the job."

"Guess that's true. Just trying to be polite.”

Dawn smirked. "Where were we?"

"Watching TV, I believe. As for your question about tagging along, it's a trip to visit Selene. Want to come? They said it was fine."

She nodded. "I'm up. I do the dry runs all the time."

"Good. I'm glad...it'll be a big hand. It's gonna be a bit more work than I anticipated. They're...green. Like, pine-tree green." I sighed. "When they asked whether they should carry weapons, one of them said he had no skill with guns, in a way that implied he thought they'd work in the realms."

Dawn grimaced a bit. "Ohhh boy..."

"Yeah, I know. Hopefully we'll bring them both back."

Dawn nodded soberly. "Babysitting run. Gotcha."

"Yeah. On a side note... one of them's that fox-girl from the news stories. Blossom."

"I /still/ haven't figured out what all the fuss is with these supposed pocket realmies or whatever..." Dawn shrugged a bit.

"Neither have I, although speculation is that they might be harbingers of a fourth realm opening soon."

"Pff. If it happens, it happens."

"Yeah, it does. Just saying. It's a babysitting run, so they can have their little vacation, and they're really insistent that they both come back. Which I hope on, but a weeklong trip into the realms being that green? Kinda just asking for it, if you ask me."

"Eye in the sky, at your side."

I smiled a bit. “Thanks... So, want to pick up where we left off?"

Dawn was already heading back for the couch. "MMhm."

{{seperator|k}}

It was the next day. I’d already gotten all the paperwork (waivers, insurance, travel documents) done with Alex and Blossom, and all the gear was rented. I’d help them divvy it up for easy carrying while we were on the ship to Corinth, since that’d take at least a day. I expected I’d carry a fair bit of the gear, but hey, that’s my job.

Alex was wrapping up a few things, which gave me a bit of time to chat with Blossom. I was there in the waiting room with her, wearing a polo and slacks again. Need to keep up appearances. Once we got in realm, then my appearance would be more...rough.

Blossom was there wearing a white hooded robe she’d rented, along with a wood-aluminum staff she’d gotten to use as a walking stick and defense weapon in realm. She looked like a role playing game healer, to be honest. Or a hippie. Either worked well in Selene’s realm though, so it wouldn’t be that big a deal.

She smiled at me as she stood up. "What do you think?"

"Looks good on you,” I admitted.

She nodded. "Thanks, I thought it would put people at ease if they didn’t see me as so different."

I nodded. "Good idea. I think it'll work, yeah." I hoped.

"So, everything seems done, what should we do now?"

I paused. "Well, whatever you want, really. You're the client."

"Well, how can i decide? I've never been here before."

She made a good point. "Fair enough. I could introduce you to the other person coming along, if you want. Or we could get something to eat.”

"That sounds great." She nodded eagerly.

I nodded. "Ok, lemme call her and see if she's available." I took out my cell and dialed Dawn’s number, but her line was busy. "Hmm. Guess that'll have to wait, her line is busy."

“Oh... well, anything interesting around here?" If nothing else, she was definitely an eternal optimist.

"Well, unfortunately, I showed you most of the campus yesterday...hmm."

"Want to go out to get something to eat then?" she suggested.

"We can. The Olympics are also on." I offered.

"What are the Olympics?"

This pocket-realmie story was making more sense to me now. "Sporting competitions. All the countries in the world send their best athletes to a specified meeting place to see who's got the best runners, swimmers, bikers..."

Blossom spoke briefly. “I've only seen one sport."

"Oh. Well, guess you wouldn't be much interested in that..."

“Does it have the snowboarding?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. That'd be the Winter Olympics, but those aren't for two more years."

"Oh.." She seemed disappointed.

I wondered where she’d seen snowboarding. "I could probably get some videos of the Winter Olympics up on a computer if you wanted, though."

She shook her head. "That's okay, maybe some other time."

"Ok." I nodded.

“We could just go for a walk or out to eat somewhere?" She flipped back to her bubbly self.

"Sure, that works." I led her to the door, and to a local Mediterranean restaurant. We got there and got situated; I took the tab again.

After her order came, she looked up to me. "So where did you grow up at?"

"Rochester, Minnesota, United States."

“Was it nice?”

“Well, I couldn’t have asked for much better. I enjoyed my childhood, I guess that’s the best way I can summarize it.” I explained.

She nodded. “I’m glad.” She paused a moment, then lowered her voice. “I never used to look this way. I was really quite different and I sometimes miss it."

Ok, now THIS was interesting. "What'd you use to look like? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, I was a flying flower with the power to read minds. Not alot of people liked that though.”

"I'm sure. Mind reading could be viewed as sorta...invasive." I probably looked skeptical. Man, this pocket realm was SOMETHING ELSE.

“What’s with the look?" Blossom asked.

"Well...just...that seems kinda odd. Don’t get those kinda stories around here often.”

She giggled a bit. "Well, I’m not exactly normal.."

"I guess that’s true."

"I’m still learning to be a fox; I was human before this.."

"So are a lot of people in the realms..." I commented.

"A lot of people were turned into animals?"

I shook my head. "Not animals, but mythological creatures." Step carefully.

She sighed a bit. "Yeah.."

"I don't mean to sound overbearing, but don't get captured in the realms,” I cautioned. Best to cover my bases now.

She nodded solemnly. "I won't.."

I detected an extra note of seriousness here. "You lose a friend in the realms, or something?"

She changed the subject quickly. "Just do me a favor?"

"If it's possible, sure." She’s my client.

"Don't die..."

I browquirked slightly. "I don't want to die anymore than anyone else. So no, I won't die."

“Good." She fell silent as she ate. I let her, figuring I’d probably hit a sore spot.

After a while, Blossom finished and sighed "So, I guess we’re going tomorrow."

"That's your choice, not mine." I clarified.

"So..you have to do everything I say?" she asked me, smirking.

I shook my head. "Not entirely. My job is to escort you to your destination, and maintain safety while doing so."

Blossom giggled a bit. "Of course."

"So you can give me commands, but I will be evaluating them in the interest of keeping you safe. Worst case, I'll also have to give commands to help." I shook my head slightly, taking a bite of my food.

"I was just asking... no need to be so uptight..." Blossom smirked

"Sorry."

"Don't be, just relax. I’m sure everything will be fine. I’m not worried; I’m sure you'll do a great job."

This was what I was trying to tell myself. On some level, it was nice to hear it come from someone else...then again, it wasn’t ME I was concerned about getting out of the realms.

"...Thanks." I said, sincerely.

"You’re welcome. Besides, Luna will help us; I’m sure of it." she said, slightly romantically.

"It may be better for you to call her Selene. Luna is the Roman name and Selene is the Greek name. Use of the Roman names is very rare."

"She has many names as I read, she's also known as Artemis and Diana."

I shook my head. "Artemis and Diana are the Greek and Roman names for a different goddess, actually."

"Really..I must haveread too much and I got my facts mixed. It’s harder to learn when you can’t hear people’s thoughts..."

"I wouldn't know."

"Well, it’s a lot easier to get things done as well."

"I guess it would be,” I agreed.

Blossom paused, thinking. “Soo..can i ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"I saw your tattoo..what is it?"

"I'm a devout follower of Athene. That's my mark. It indicates my allegiance to Athene, and helps protect me in-realm.”

“Can I see it?" she asked.

I put down my fork and held my hand out for her to look at.

She took it in her hands and examined it, flipping my hand over to see the helmet as well. "So is Athene nice?"

Hard question to answer. "Yes. She is."

Blossom nodded. "Alright..I think we should go back now, Alex might wonder where I went."

"Alright." I paid the tab on my card and stood, leading her back to the meeting place.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A_New_Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/A New Realm...?

2013-09-13T11:37:11Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:A New Realm...?}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

After the excitement of the last trip, I took a bit of time off. Well, off as in staying out of realm. There were reams of paperwork to do explaining the situation and I had to send in a cleanup crew to try and recover the two we’d left behind. No one had expected the gorgon to be that powerful, so I got run through the wringer on questions and such, and spent a week and a half on the bench after I got back while everything was sorted out.

Fortunately, everything turned out pretty well in the end. Gerry was grateful for my decision that saved him, and Jurgen backed my story, having gotten his fill of exotic hunting for the time. So, in the end, I got cleared.

Nikolai and Antoine did manage to bag the gorgon, and Dawn had brought them back with their trophies. The thing was too large to carry, but they got a few prizes to show off. Thus, they were happy. And the cleanup crew had found Boris and Louis alright, and so they were being treated by the Asclepians. Petrification reversal isn’t cheap and Asclepius, while neutral, isn’t quite a charity, but there weren’t a lot of other options. Last I heard, Nikolai had gone back in realm to help his brother recover.

After I got cleared, I spent a few days prepping again, and went back in realm on a tourism run with a larger group. Corinth, Sparta, Athens, home. It was a cat-herding run, really. Just a larger tour group of eighteen, and five of us guides keeping them all together. I got some ribbing for my ‘bad luck’ from the others, but in the end it all went off with only one hitch at the end, so I got back home again. After refreshing myself, I’d dressed up in a polo and slacks and gone to spend a few hours with Dawn. I got back later in the evening, maybe 7PM because I was just dead tired.

As I dragged myself into the apartment, I could smell some food cooking, and saw Robjeet polishing his shoes, with an ironed tux set out on the counter ready to be placed in a bag. I’d already packed my stuff away, so I started setting the table. Just the two of us.

“Heya, Robert.” It was early July now, and I hadn’t seen him since I was benched.

Robjeet nodded to me, since his hands were busy. "Ey Nate. How'd it go tonight?"

"It went rather well." I smiled. He knew about the relationship.

"Good for you, man."

"Yeah, it's working out decently. It's been a while since I've seen you, how're you doing?" I finished setting the table and sat down. "And what do you need the tux for, or am I not allowed to know that?"

"My dad's accepting an award in Sicily tomorrow evening." He glanced to an invitation on the refrigerator. I hadn’t noticed it when I came in. One other downside to being in realm, communication isn’t near as fast... unless you’re willing to pay for it, of course.

I browquirked. "Oh? For what?"

"Part of his work on the generator over in Cadarache... Heh, but quit stalling.” He smirked at me. “How are you and the lady doing?"

I paused for a moment, deciding how much to say. "Hee. We're getting along fine. It was kinda awkward at first, but we're getting past it... and give your dad my congrats, man. That's pretty cool.”

"Well, I'll leave it alone buddy, just remember the code. Scrunchy or sock on the doorknob." He smiled slyly.

I paused longer, this time. I hadn’t thought about that. "...right. When we get that far." I probably looked nervous at the mention of THAT topic.

Robjeet chuckled, still polishing. “You look edgy.”

"Kinda a odd line of thought,” I admitted. “Not something I’ve thought about much.”

"Well, not /all/ couples end up doing that stuff,” he reassured me.

"Yeah. I'm not sure we will either..." I trailed off.

"Don't worry about it. It either comes, or it doesn't." He nodded, finishing one shoe and moving to the next.

"Sure. That works. Again, give your dad congrats for me." I tried to change the subject off my personal life.

"Will do." He took the hint. "Keep on your toes around here, man. Weird shit going down."

I leaned on the table, propped up on one arm a bit boredly. "Oh?"

"Popping up in the papers a lot lately. Stories about realmies from some kind of pocket realm."

"...weird. I've been out for the last month, so tell me a bit. No newspapers in Greece. They can't get the presses to work." I smirked a bit. Actually, they can get old, Gutenberg-style presses to work, but I’d been working and so I hadn’t had time to read a paper. I’d heard a bit of this from the tourists who did, though.

"So far it's mostly Israel and England that it's all focusing on, the reporters keep analyzing without telling you anything." He shrugged a bit. “Don’t know why they still refer to it as Israel. The whole thing is Bast’s realm these days and it’s hell to get good reports out of there.”

"Have no idea. It just causes trouble, in my opinion. As for analyzing... I guess that’s what reporters are wont to do. Anything useful in the articles, or...?" I let it hang.

"Heh, just do some combing on the terminal, man. It's all there. Nothing happening here yet, but people are getting worried that a fourth realm might open soon."

I paused at that. "Well, that might be interesting...for us, at least." I cautiously opined.

"I sure hope not, man. You might be a bit young to remember how the world economy this side of the globe turned to shit for a few years after the realms opened." He shook his head. "I'd rather not see that happening again."

"Sorry, man, I don’t remember that...I was only 3."

"Eh, I was 9, but we studied the after-shocks a fair bit."

"Guess I musta missed that at my school." Not surprising, really. US education tries to avoid the realms as much as possible. Arkansas teaches that the realms are an illegal usurpation.

He nodded. "Just be aware of the tension, but in all odds, it's just some random bullshit hoax."

"Sure. Eggshells it is. Anything else I should know?"

"Just what you think's important, man. Just take it all with a big grain of salt."

"Sure thing. You know I love my salt."

{{Separator|k}}

We didn’t discuss any more of import after that, it was just some general catch-up about how our runs had gone. Robjeet retired right after I finished eating, needing to get up early tomorrow to head out. Not that we were strangers to getting up early, but we were more conscious about how it affected us.

I headed back to my room and sat down at the computer to check my email, and touch base with my parents. After that was done, which took a bit over an hour, I sat to spend some time researching the pocket realmies. I logged into 3R (Reuters Realm Report) to see what they had to say; they tended to have the best info on realm-related stuff.

The first thing that really came up were two pictures which were pretty big news. One was a HUGE anthropomorphic tiger standing under a flapping Lebanese flag, captioned “Nkosi, agent of Bast.” Dude musta been 7 feet, and made of solid muscle, wearing heavy armor. I was surprised; the big names in realm rarely leave, because in realm, you layer on all sorts of magical protection...and out of realm, that all matters for squat.

The other big picture was a more diminutive anthro-fox. Not a hemt, just an anthro red fox, getting off an Royal Air Force transport with British officers. The caption here, was “Blossom, a pocket realm denizen.” The rest of the article was prattling back and forth about a fourth realm possibly opening, and where. The big thing was that neither of these species had been seen like this before. Some sphinx are partial tiger, and hemt, of course, are mostly fennec fox anthros (with a scorpion tail), but this combination was unique and...possibly new.

That said, Robjeet was right that there was lots of analysis, and not much info, so after a bit I clicked through to the photo gallery to see what was in there. There was a photo of a “Nicolas Snider”, a smaller anthro tiger who was operating at the Realm Embassy in London on behalf of Bast. Then Blossom and an “Alex”, who seemed just like a normal human sitting in the back of a Volkswagen with an Anubi. I recognized the Anubis; that was Steve Martnell; he worked for the Realm embassy in London, and had the distinction of being the first realmie born out-of-realms.

None of them had any stated plans, but there were a number of speculations about the British government being unduly influenced by Kemet, given they’d basically ended up with all three of these realmies in short order and they’d all come from there. There was speculation that the two tigers, being the most similar, were siblings; there was a size difference and they’d been confirmed to be in two different locations at once, so they were clearly two different people. Again, both marked to Bast, who is...bad news, as far as Realm gods go. She was milking it for what she could.

That said, it was clear I wasn’t going to find any more information tonight. I shut off the computer and lied down on my bed to try and sleep. This would definitely be interesting to watch...maybe by tomorrow there’d be more news, but since they were pretty much my time zone, I doubted it.

I set my alarm for tomorrow morning at 8. I had the next few days off before I came up on call, but I had an appointment with the armorer tomorrow at 10 to get fitted for my new armor. The official name is Hellas Tactical Armor, New Style, but everyone just calls it Heltan. Heltan’s basically armor clothing, but its generally considered to be the best armor that doesn’t impinge the wearer’s mobility, and is light enough to both wear continuously and carry without much effort in a pack. It’s not anything like plate or such, but it’s still pretty good.

After that, I’d need to go get some new crossbow bolts, since I’d left a number of mine behind in realm that time, most of them in a chimera I’d had to chase off from the camp when some tourists snuck food into their tents, and a few I used to scare off some stormwings going after Frederick, one of our tourists that time. He’d been one of the few on the tour who hadn’t been marked, so we’d had to keep an extra eye on him; on the last day some of them made an extra effort to grab him, but we’d been able to fend them off. Not without some injury; one of our walkers had to get a few stitches on the boat, but when you’re fighting what is essentially a harpy with metal feathers, you’re just happy you still have all your parts after the fight...

...and the next thing I knew, my alarm was buzzing, waking me up from a sleep that had come all too quickly. My muscles ached a bit, but it was better than waking up on the ship to Corinth. I stood up and flipped on the computer as I went to shave and brush my teeth and get breakfast.

There were commentaries, letters to the editor, analysis. No new events, but since they were on a similar timeframe, I guess that was to be expected. Protests against the realms, politicians denying that these people even existed, advocation to invade the realms with realm-trained military units, and the proposal of the Human Marriage Amendment in the ‘states again. Economists panicking over a fourth realm opening, people stocking up on supplies in case it opened in their area...man, what a mess. It was even taking away news time from the Olympics, which were happening right now. Even got a few subgods and such from Greece to show up in Madrid for it.

But all that was for a later time. I headed out to get suited up, check in, debrief, and maybe spend some time with Dawn.

{{Separator|k}}

I got done with my errands earlier than anticipated, so after dropping off my stuff at home, I went over towards Dawn’s place to stop by. The building she lives in is rather different, since it’s designed to be occupied by realmies with nonhuman body structures or sizes. Wider halls and stairs for centaurs, taller ceilings for minotaurs, and rooms designed for people with smaller stature, like Dawn. Lots of other adjustments too. It always feels kind of...off, being inside.

I knocked on the door and waited when I got there, nodding to a minotaur passing in the hallway. I looked down at the doorknob and waited. The thing was barely past my ankles. Which admittedly was where Dawn needed it, it was just kind of an adjustment for me to be in a place like this. Everything was off proportion or such. Eventually, she got over to the door and opened it up, smiling up at me.

“Afternoon...come on in.” Dawn stepped aside to let me in.

"Hello, Dawn. Sleep well?" I stepped inside to look around. The entire place was set up for feet-hands; half of the furniture is entirely unusable by me.

“Did, yep. You?”

“Decently, yeah. Worried about the Frederick, a bit...hope the shenanigans there might convince him to get a mark on his next trip. But he’s outta my hands now.”

“They didn’t capture anyone, that’s the important part. Stormwings can be pretty nasty for that...”

“Still strange to compare the names from myth, and the common ones. Stymphalian birds to stormwings, for example.”

Dawn gave me a Look. "Stym-what? Uh, no... Come on, sit down, you tall bastard."

Oh. Right. “Sure.” I headed over towards one of the floor cushions she had; she preferred that I use those, because when I sit cross-legged, I was effectively her height.

Dawn stepped into my lap, sitting on my thigh in a manner that then allowed her to lean against my chest and shoulders, while still keeping her feet on the ground for balance. “You know...we should take a trip in, sometime. Just you and me.”

I paused. “Out to Greece?” Dawn nodded. “Well, how about after my next trip or two? I’ll save the money, we can go out there.”

“You can show me a few of Athene’s nice temples.”

“Solid idea...Athens, then?”

“It’s a date.”

"Sounds fun." I smiled. “So...stormwings is the more common term in English, right?”

“Stormwings,” Dawn confirmed, and gave me a quick smooch. “Only nerds call ‘em Stymphalians.”

I nodded at that. “Stormwings.” I gave a quick peck back and pulled her into a one armed hug.

She smiled at me. “Stormwings suck.”

After a few seconds, I let her go with a quick snug. “Did you hear about those new people, from the supposed alternate realm?”

“Vaguely. It’s just news fodder.” She shrugged a bit.

I nodded. This wasn’t going to be much of a conversation; best to get out while I could. “Looks interesting, but if you’re not interested, you aren’t interested.”

“There are a lot of hoaxes that start this way,” Dawn said. "I'm highly skeptical."

"I'm taking it with a grain of salt myself; just thought it’s interesting to think about.”

"Good show."

"Yeah, it is, if nothing else."

Dawn took the chance to change the subject. "I'm really more interested in us."

I nodded. "Me too." I gave her a quick peck.

Dawn kissed back, then giggled. “Oh yes?”

“Yep. That’ll be a fun trip.” I glanced to my mark again. "I'll make the requsition for days off later today."

Dawn smiled at me. "Mm... Got plans for the rest of the afternoon?"

I shook my head. “Not particularly. I gotta check in on my armor later, but other than that, no." I paused, then asked. "Had something in mind?"

She batted at my face with a wing. That wasn’t the right answer. "Dinner'n'a'movie?"

"Sure, that sounds fine." I smiled. “What’d you want to see?”

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected_Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_the_Clients|Meeting the Clients]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Unexpected Burdens

2013-09-13T11:35:43Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unexpected Burdens}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was two days later, a bit after dusk. Dawn and I’d snuck in some time and gotten to know each other better. The hunting crew still hadn’t bagged the gorgon; elusive thing. They’d stayed out later tonight trying to grab it since we only had a day or two of supplies before we’d have to head back.

I was just sitting by the fire with Dawn and snuggling a little bit when I heard a bit of a commotion coming towards the camp. I stood up and grabbed my crossbow looking in the direction of the noise. Wasn’t good odds for me, but I didn’t have any better options presenting themselves.

“Renfrew!” A french accent shouted out. Oh, it was just our group coming back. I relaxed a bit for a moment, lowering my crossbow...and then got a flood of adrenaline into my system as the crew came into view. There were two people less than there were supposed to be and the Russian hunter was doing a fireman carry on someone. Shit. Something had gone wrong. Badly wrong.

“Here!” I rubbed my eyes trying to clear them for night vision. Idiot, I’d been staring at the fire and now it might cost me. “I’m right here.”

The remaining man, a German named Jurgen, hurried over. He had the best English of these three, so he was the natural interpreter. “We were ambushed. Monster. Stung two of us repeatedly, hit Gerry once. Gerry on Nikolai’s back.”

The exasperation was clear on my face. The two on the mountain had to be petrified by now, and Gerry...well. “Get him down here where I can see him.”

The three of them working together eased Gerry into the firelight where I could see him. First I checked him for vitals, barking orders to the remaining people. Get some water, check to make sure it hasn’t followed you, get the food off the fire before it burns.

Gerry’s breathing was ragged but there, his eyes were unfocused, though they moved slightly. His reflexes were nonexistent, and he had a grayish cast to his nails and hair, with a salty residue around his mouth and eyes, and a thick, pus-like liquid oozing from where he’d been stung. Telltale signs of early petrification. We needed to get Gerry out of realm, and we needed to do it now.

“I advise we strip the camp. We need to get him out of realm.” I stated.

That got me some confusion from Nikolai and Antoine. Jurgen, to his credit, went to start getting camp stuff stripped down. At least someone was listening. The russian, Nikolai, came over to me. “Not leaving Boris on this mountain.” That’s right, the two of them were brothers.

I ignored him. I was checking if the stinger was stuck in the wound. Thankfully, it wasn’t. No surgery for me. I went over to his tent and got the collapsible poles. “We need a stretcher.”

Nikolai shoved me as I came back, knocking me completely over. “Coward American can go. Staying here.”

The poles didn’t break. Thank god. We’d have a huge problem with no stretcher. The Frenchman, Antoine, came back behind the Russian, looking at him. “We need to go. Guide says it best.” He seemed lukewarm on this, to be honest.

Nikolai spit at me. “Cowards! All of you!”

I so didn’t need this right now. I had two down and one on the way, and I couldn’t afford a fight. The Russian would probably pound me, anyways. I staggered back and tried to get to my feet. I tried to think of something to say, when a silent person to this whole thing spoke up.

“Then you don’t have to leave.” Dawn spoke. “He’s the junior guide and his job is to Gerry and the injured. You can stay here and keep hunting.”

The Russian stared hard at her. “Not staying alone.”

Dawn nodded. “You don’t have to. I’ll work with you and Antoine if you want. Nate and Jurgen can head outrealm.”

I took the opportunity here to try and assemble the stretcher. There was no way either of us was carrying Gerry by ourselves. I tried to quickly apportion out some food as Dawn talked with the others.

Within minutes, it was decided. Jurgen and I would go outrealm, and I’d send a cleanup crew in after them if I hadn’t heard within a week. Dawn and I pulled away for a moment as I finished packing my tent. “You sure this is a good idea, Dawn?”

Dawn nodded. “It’s the best we’re gonna get, Nate. You get Gerry out of realm...trust me, I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t like this idea, but I didn’t have any better that didn’t risk Gerry being killed. I snuck in a quick kiss. “Holding you to that.”

She grinned at me. “We’ll be fine. I don’t know we’ll even see the thing again at this point.”

I nodded as I strapped on my pack. “Best of luck. See you back in Lecci.”

And with that, I went back to Jurgen, we hoisted Gerry’s stretcher, and we left.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New_Relationships|New Relationships]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A New Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/New Relationships

2013-09-13T11:33:23Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Relationships}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

The next time I was in realm was May, 2020. I’d been hired on again as an assistant walker to Gerry; he’d gotten picked up by a few exotic hunters who wanted to bag a gorgon for bragging rights, and they needed someone to mind the camp. Dawn had signed on for scouting work this time too, and she was out helping them eye the mountain.

In-realm exotic hunting is generally not that different from out of realm big-game hunting, except you can’t use a gun and some of the things you’re going after have a good chance of taking YOU home instead. This was part of how I ended up minding the shop; I had no real interest in getting mauled by a gorgon. I was in the camp mending a nasty cut in one of the tents with a needle and thread. My sewing wasn’t exemplary, in fact it was pretty shoddy, but it was enough to keep the damage from getting worse. It’d matter more if I was doing stitches, but for now it was just me sewing a tent.

As the sun was setting, Dawn came in for her final approach and landed nearby me. She can’t fly easily after dark, and it’d be dangerous in any event. I nodded to her as she landed, as both my hands were busy.

"Ey Nate,” she responded in between heavy breaths. Flight’s a HUGE aerobic workout, so she always was a bit short of breath when she landed.

I spit the thread out of my mouth. "How was the air today?"

She grumped a bit. "Hot and humid. How was the ground today?"

I chuckled. "Heh, same. Everyone still doing alright, last you checked?"

She nodded. "They're still combing over that mountainside trying to track down that gorgon."

"Pretty dangerous. Hope it doesn't ambush them."

She giggled. "They're big boys, they can handle themselves. Gives us a few hours here, though."

I smiled a bit. "Yep."

Dawn looked to me as she settled in. "Seems they think we get along pretty well, keep getting paired up."

I nodded to that. "Yep. Well, I don't mind." I pulled another stitch closed.

Dawn came and sat next to me. "Good company."

I smiled inwardly. "Yep. Again, I don't mind having someone to chat with..."

Dawn gave me a meaningful look. "I only hope you bitch about me behind my back less than you do about certain satyrs."

I eyerolled slightly as I pulled another stitch closed. "I don't do that about you. Bones...gets on my nerves on ocassion."

Dawn giggled a bit.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing."

I took the hint. "I really shouldn't be complaining about him at all, honestly. It’s a job and there’s always people you won’t like, at ANY job.”

Dawn nodded, then turned to me "How long have you and I been doing this job together?"

I thought back. "I've been hired since September, so...8 months."

Dawn wingshrugged a bit. "When we get back, ask me out to dinner sometime."

I paused, mouth agape a bit. "You sure?"

Dawn smiled at my shock. "Can't hurt anything."

I nodded. "Alright."

"It'd just be nice..." she sighed wistfully.

I nodded a bit. “Yeah. You like any type of food in particular?"

Dawn snorted. "You've been cooking for us for that long, Nate, you know I'll eat near to anything."

I chuckled lightly. "Fair enough."

"I dunno... Most of the time I'm happy with my lot in life, but here and there it'd be nice to have a friend close enough to look past the feathers,” Dawn admitted.

I paused. "I can understand that."

Dawn smirksnorted at me. "You make it too easy, Nate. I come off sounding desperate."

I shook my head, backpedalling. "No, no you don't."

Dawn waved a wing a bit. "Talk about you a little bit, then."

I hadn’t been asked THAT before. I was kinda thrown off balance. "Well...what aspect do you want to know about, specifically?"

"How the hell do you stay so bloody nice through all of this?" She certainly didn’t beat around the bush.

"Well...because I try. It's a job, and yes, I take flak from some customers, but the pay's good, and it's what I've wanted to do." I said, trying to work through it myself.

Dawn smirked again.

I browquirked. "Something funny?" I finished the stitching and checked it with a tug. "That should hold it for a while."

Dawn shook her head. "Nah. Just a weird conversation."

I folded the tent back up and puts it in the bag. We’d brought a spare, so we didn’t need that one at the moment. "Well, honestly, some of the monsters and stuff of the realms scare me...I've had my share of nightmares since I started."

"I hear ya..." Dawn admitted.

"Gorgons were one of them. Don't relish the thought of being a lifelike statue for all eternity." I shuddered involuntarily.

"That's curable, usually,” Dawn reassured me.

"Oh? That's good..." Welcome news indeed. "School-truth dichotomy, we meet again."

Dawn paused. "As long as you have someone to find you and get you TO the cure, that is."

"Which is betting on things I'd rather not bet on,” I added quickly.

Dawn nodded at that. "True."

I chuckled a bit. "Any other nightmares you wanna give me?" I said, jokingly.

"Ever seen a cerberus?... Come on, sit down over here."

I went and sat down. "No, not yet."

Dawn explained. "You might see em if you go down the underworld river with a more daring group."

"The Styx?"

"And its tributaries."

I nodded. "My roommate went down there with a group. Lost two. But, cerberus. Three headed demon dog..."

"Dogs. Plural,” came the correction. "There's lots of em, in varying degrees."

"Degrees? What do you mean?” I hazarded a guess. “Of humanity?”

"Degrees of nastiness. Size. Humanity, sure.'

"Ah...Tear you right apart, I'm guessing?"

"Usually." She took a breath. "Nobody's managed to study it closely, but it's said that when all three heads have swallowed a whole victim, they merge together in its belly and become the next generation."

I jolted back at that. Wasn’t getting ANY sleep for a few hours now, that’s for sure.

"Weird shit,” Dawn concluded.

"Yeah, I'd say. I know I won't be sleeping sound tonight." I shivered a bit.

Dawn smirked. "Sissy."

"Hey, tell me more. Always willing to learn..."

Dawn stood up, which meant she was now my sitting height. She turned directly towards me. "It's just rumour, mind."

I waved my hand a bit. "Of course. Still creepy."

"There's all kinds of stuff like that around... You just don't hear about all of it." Dawn paused. "’cause honestly, who has time to watch a monster for ages to ask its babies if they used to be human?"

"I'm more than willing to. Hear about it, I mean. Better to know ahead of time than find out at a bad moment." I nodded.

Dawn shrugged a bit. "I don't know as much as you give me credit for. You have to talk to the locals, really... And they don't understand you."

I scoffed. "You know more than me, that's for sure."

Dawn shrugged. "Ah, but you've still got that drive to learn, that great idealism... Me, I just fly around and hope for the best..."

"I hope I never lose it, personally."

Dawn smiles. "Me too. I try to be a good person, but the change... Honestly I think it wore me down, that time where I felt so useless."

"I sympathize,” I said, not sure what else to say.

"I know I'm still me... But not everyone else made that same connection... Be careful, Nathan... Folks you know won't either."

I browquirked curiously. "Make the connection that I'm the same person?"

Dawn nodded. "They'll say they believe it... But they don't, not really.” She shook her head. “Not where it counts. I'll tell you, THAT stings."

I was speechless. "..."

"The mark should help... But it isn't foolproof." I’d never heard this one.

I choked. "There are ways to overwrite a mark?"

"Not... Easily..." Dawn admitted. “But that's not what I mean."

"Oh,” I wasn’t sure how much I believed her. Or was supposed to.

She suddenly got more personal. "Nate...Just... Don't go through what I did, alright? ANYTHING but.”

I put on a bit of transparent bravado, just to have something to say. "I don't plan to, no."

"My mother cried... I can still hear it. 'My baby is a monster'..." Dawn shook her head dismissively. "Age of enlightenment my feathered ass."

"...I'm sorry." My eyes stared off in the distance. How WOULD my family react?

Dawn smiled wryly "These days I explain to her that she was right, when I talk to her. I am a monster. Turns out there is a way to use that word proudly."

I nodded. "That's good that you've made peace."

Dawn changed the subject a bit fast, and hit for home. "What do YOU see, Renfrew?"

I was thrown off balance, but I took a few moments to gauge my answer. "...I see a person. Physically different, but mentally the same as all other people. It's like a different skin color, to me." I paused, trying to be clear. "It's a cosmetic difference."

Dawn took a step in forward, bringing herself fairly close. "And what's in and on that person, if I'm truly being judged the same as your other companions?"

I paused, grasping for words. "A kindred spirit. One who wants adventure, and won't let anything stop her from having it."

Dawn smiled. Then she surprised me by leaning in...and kissing me! And after, I got through my initial shock, I kissed her back. She pulled herself in with wings and kissed me again...and it felt...right.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones_the_Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected_Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Bones the Satyr

2013-09-13T11:32:05Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bones the Satyr}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

By now it was April of 2020. I was working with another group, and again manning the camp. This was an easier trip, actually, so I’d been given the chance to run this show on my own. It wasn’t anything serious, a few people wanted to just do some sightseeing. They were all marked and had hired a local to do the sightseeing tour, so I was left manning the camp, again. I was using the time practically, having set up a makeshift dirt target that was getting shot at repeatedly with my crossbow.

Watching me was a satyr who was tagging along with us. He’d decided to skip today’s activities. Earlier he had headed off to get a few supplies from a local town, but he got back early and was just lounging under a tree. Honestly, I think he was just looking for an excuse to wander off to the local glade that was known to have nymphs. It’s called satyriasis for a reason.

Regardless, I finished another volley, and after announcing “Clear!” went to collect my bolts. I was becoming a pretty impressive shot. My spreads were down and more and more bolts were on the mark. My body had rather significantly buffed up, too...realmwalking was definitely good physical activity. I felt the best I ever had, physically. That said, some of my original equipment was getting pretty worn, especially the armor, in more ways than one. I figured I might need some better armor soon. Maybe leather or Heltan(TM) with inserts. I checked over my bolts and cleared my crossbow. I was done for now.

Bones cleared his throat as I finished. I turned over to look at him. Since my early issues with Dawn, I’d turned to letting the realmies come to me, rather than forcing myself on them. "So now, Mister Tell... How does a fellow like you choose this life?"

Looking over, I responded, “Because I wanted it. Since I was a kid.” I headed over towards his tree, starting to feed the loose bolts back into the magazine. I checked his mark with my marksense as I approached. Dionysus. Figures.

Bones seemed amused. “Oh? And why is that?”

"Well...because I like the adventure, the unpredictability. In my opinion, it's better than sitting at a desk all day, every day."

Bones smirked at me through his beard."Even though you stay behind and cook and clean all day while the men go off to beat their chests?" It was a factual statement, it wasn’t derogatory. Still, it hit a bit close to home.

I shrugged. "It's a job. I gotta start slower."

"A job worth sharing your soul and risking your very humanity for, hmm?"

I got defensive. "I enjoy it."

"Nathan...” Bones chided. “We know there's more to it than that. Come on now, I'm your friend, why not share with me?"

I sighed. Was I STILL this transparent? "What do you mean, Bones?"

He grinned again. "There's always a certain... Special something in each of the boys that comes here... What is it for you?"

I reflected for a moment. "...probably a bit of greed," I said sheepishly.

"Oh really, now?”

"Yeah. That, and the desire for adventure...I wasn't too far from being in an adventuring group myself, truth be told."

"So then you're just testing the water now.” At least he wasn’t calling me a greenback.

I nodded. "To an extent."

"Or perhaps further? You seem to have already committed yourself." He gestures markward.

I’d found out since that the owlfeathers was something that only Athenian devouts get. Otherwise it’s just the palm-helmet for a mark. I shook my head at being read so easily, even with his marksense making the difference. See, once you have a mark, you can sort of...’sense’ other people’s marks, and a rough approximation of their god’s relationship with yours. It’s just a helpful hint, nothing too big in most cases.

"That's true. I don't like the idea of a regular job."

Bones switched tack. "How much /fun/ have you had here, Nathan?"

"Quite a bit, truth be told. Interspersed with some terror, but that makes it worthwhile."

Bones grinned again. "Ever been to a centaur party?"

"No..."

"Lay with a dryad?"

"No."

"Satyr revel?"

I shook my head embarrased. "Not yet."

Bones threw up his hands in exasperation. "Tuh! Adventure my furry teeth. How can you be adventuring if you aren't trying things and connecting with the locals?"

I shrugs weakly, then looked at my checklist. "I'm having fun, and I can choose to work in a party anytime I want to. And truth be told, I'm still pretty new.

Bones chuckled knowingly. "Maybe I can introduce ya to some of the finer pleasures of the journey. It'll help ya to fit in later on, that's fer sure."

I browquirked. "Oh? Later on?"

"When yer a /real/ adventurer hauling in the loot, yeah?" Bones stood up and smirked again.

"Ah...” I wanted out of this convo, but nothing really presented itself. “Well, what'd you want to introduce me too? My work's done for now."

Bones grinned widely. "Tomorrow, let's sneak off to the glade near here. I'll bring the wine, you bring the charm."

I coughed. "Charm? Man, I can't get drunk, on duty, but..."

He chuckled mischeveously. "Oh yeah. The nymphs just eat up the whole adventurer slash devout thing."

"Ahhh...” I nodded. “Well, ok, that sounds like an idea once the work is done." Idiot, why did I agree?

Bones grinned. "Now you're talking."

I tried to change the subject. “Anything else?"

Bones looked thoughtful. "Mmmmmmm... If you're off next month, we'll drag you along with a party to a revel. Not all adventuring parties are after loot. Some actually want to PARTY. Like an inter-realm pub crawl."

THAT I could get out of. "I'm booked, actually. There were some really good jobs coming up."

Bones looked a bit disappointed. "Shame."

"Athene's big into discipline anyways, and I’ve never been much of one for drinking.”

Bones waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, tomorrow you can have a day off from Athene. Nothing out of discipline about a little go in the glade."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think so. What do you mean by a go?"

"A few hours with the nymphs. You'll have fun."

I shook my head in disbelief that I’d gotten into this, but didn’t see an easy way out. "Ok, if you say so."

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner_with_Robjeet|Dinner with Robjeet]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New_Relationships|New Relationships]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Dinner with Robjeet

2013-09-13T11:29:18Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinner with Robjeet}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}It was a few weeks later. I’d just gotten back from my trip to the Parthenon, so I pushed my way into the apartment, looking forward to a hot shower, a bed, and maybe some TV or video games. I’d no idea that being a devout came with so many rules...nothing too onerous, really, just I was surprised on the level of instruction. Don’t use poison, don’t attack fleeing enemies, etc. I’d picked up a bit of sword training at the time too, from an older Athenian who was one of my instructors.

I probably spent close to an hour in the shower. It’s honestly one of the best parts of getting back out of realm. Getting a good shower, and having as much hot water as you want. The cars and computers and TV and video games are nice, but it’s really some of the simple things that you miss the most when you’re in realm. Ice, hot water, showers, refrigeration.

When I got out, Robjeet, as I’d come to know him, was busy cooking something in the kitchen. I hadn’t seen him for a few weeks, because we’d been in-realm pretty much opposite times of each other; when one of us was in, the other was out, and we were passing each other all the time. Two ships in the night, I think the phrasing is. In any case, I headed over to the kitchen to see if I could help.

“Hey, Robjeet. Any way I can help?”

He was cooking some sort of hybrid Italian/Indian pasta and sauce dish. "Ey Nathan. Haven't seen you in a few weeks."

My thoughts exactly. "Sorry, man. We kept missing each other.” In fact, I hadn’t seen him since before I got my mark. “Got enough for two, or will I have to cook up something?”

Robjeet smirked. "Aw hell, I've got enough for ten. You know I always freeze a bunch."

I laughed. "Yep, you certainly do. Was just checking."

Robjeet nodded with a smile. "Not a problem.” He paused, then got to business. “Rumor has it you went to Athens on your own."

I started unpacking my gear in the main area, sword and all that. "Rumor would be correct."

"Heh, sounds like we've got some stories to swap, Nate."

I pulled out my crossbow and checked the safety, removing the magazine from it and clearing it for storage. "It does indeed. You wanna go first?" My mark came into view on my hand and I paused for a second. Still hadn’t gotten used to seeing that on me, and all.

He shook his head in response to my statement. "Nah. Let's get the interesting story out there first."

Chuckling slightly, I nodded. "Ok. I went to Athens, to the Parthenon." I paused. "And there was instructed in my rules of conduct."

Robjeet smirked and glanced up from his cooking. "Let's see the mark. Got a visible one?" I held up my right hand. "You managed to get one a lot earlier than most do."

I nodded. “I was warned about the risks of not getting one.”

Robjeet gave me a look for a moment. “Good on ya if you can keep it up."

"Thanks, man. I intend to."

He paused, then motioned to my hand before checking the food again. "Just, ah... Wear a glove if you go into other towns, man."

I browquirked. "For safety?"

He nodded. "Yeah... Just to avoid trouble."

I weighed it, then said, "Probably a good idea. Doesn't conflict with my code, so...yeah."

"Most folk just don't like it too much. The pope and all, and then the three way between the major religions."

"Yeah...I’ve already heard a bit. Their problem, I'd rather improve my chances of staying in my body. But I'll wear a glove, yeah."

“In Lecci, it's no problem. We have centaurs on the ground floor of this place; a tattoo isn't weirding anyone out."

“I’ll just tell anyone who pries that I’ve got a nasty cut on my hand, or sweaty hands. Wasn’t there some singer who used to wear a glove on only one hand?”

“Yeah, but trust me, you don’t want to be associated with Michael Jackson. Just go with the first two. You told your folks yet?"

I shook my head again as I finished unloading my pack. "Nope."

"Gonna?"

"Probably, when it comes up. Not supposed to lie." I hauled my gear back to my room and set it on the floor, then returned to the common area and started to set out two places.

Robjeet gave a low whistle. "That should be an interesting conversation."

"Yeah, it should,” I agreed. “But if I'm ever visiting them, I'll need to explain it. Sooner or later."

"Good luck, man."

"Thanks again.” I set down the glasses and sat down. “So, your story?"

He took a breath. "Went on a multiple day crawl up the Moradon river, next to Styx. Getting to the underworld that way is a bitch, but I netted more in three days than I usually do in a month, plus an enchanted ring.” I probably looked a bit awed. “Damn near impossible to get stuff like that in our position."

"Sweet...enchanted ring? What's it do?"

"Dissipates heat. Like my own personal air conditioning. Doesn't work out here, though." he added as an afterthought. I thought that was assumed by now, myself.

"Well...that's neat. I've been thinking of signing on a time or two myself."

"It's some great shit, Nate, but when it goes bad, it goes BAD."

"I'm sure..." Breathe. "Have to see what comes up." No point in false bravado, he’d see through it.

Robjeet finished cooking and came over to dish up both plates, then he set the dish back on the stove and sat down. "Wes and Mick died,” he commented soberly.

I paused. Screwed up again. "...oh. I'm sorry."

He nodded. "I didn't know em that well, but it's hitting some pretty hard that Wes went down."

I nodded. "He musta been good?"

“One of the better warriors I’ve met, definitely.” He changed the subject and we moved on, not wanting to linger too much. After that it just got into general discussion and such; I retired soon after dinner to get some rest.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting_Marked|Getting Marked]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones_the_Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Getting Marked

2013-09-13T11:27:52Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Getting Marked}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}It was a few weeks later. The first realmwalk had gone off without a hitch, and now I was on a second trip, into Athens, on a tourist run. I hadn’t gotten my mark yet, and the danger of not doing so was weighing heavily on my mind...especially after our group had gotten attacked by a chimera. Chimeras are like black bears in the states; they scavenge from food that’s left accessible. Bloody tourists not protecting the food properly.

We scared it off without much fight, but there were some wounds, and it’d made off with some of our food, so we were going to need more. I’d escaped unharmed that time, and so I was told to head off to a nearby town on the outskirts of Athens to procure more, along with Dawn, ostensibly for my own protection.

I was in better shape than last time, I could tell. Muscle movements came more easily to my mind and my body responded faster. Even moreso than when I did some of the survival training camps out at home, when in college. I held my crossbow tightly as we headed towards the town.

Dawn broke the silence, shaking me out of my thoughts. “You look tense.”

I jolted a bit in surprise, looking over to her. "Still haven't been out on my own particularly much. And...well, kinda still thinking over the events of last night. Kind of a crash-course in danger.”

Dawn chuckled knowingly. “And you love it, don’t you?”

I smiled sheepishly. “I do. Lots better and more exciting than sitting at a desk 9 to 5.”

Dawn hopped over to catch up, and used a wing to push on my crossbow a bit. “Don’t look so ready to use the weapon; it scares the locals.”

I relaxed my grip a bit, lowering the weapon to point at the ground. “Thank you for the advice.”

Dawn nodded, and then continued. "But yeah... That danger of exploration is why I did this even knowing what could happen to me. Even after what happened to me."

I nodded slightly, looking to her. "I understand that feeling, now. I thought I did, but now I understand it more...also, been thinking about what you said."

"Hm?"

"About the marking."

"Oh?"

I took a breath. "Yeah...looking pretty seriously at Athene.”

Dawn looked at me. "If you want it, kid, go for it."

"It's a tough call, but it looks like a good choice." I nodded a bit. I was gonna have to make this decision soon.

Dawn spoke up again."The gang wanted us to go get lost for awhile... If you want it, now's the time."

Sooner than I thought. "Well, where’s the local temple? No better time than now." I put on a bit of false bravado.

Dawn smirked, seeing right through it. "Typically, in a town like this, you just look for a large ornate stone structure." She pointed a wing towards the rooftops, where I could see some columns supporting the outside of a roof. “There.”

“Alright, then...let’s go.” I started in that direction.

Dawn kept up easily. She moved faster on the ground than I would’ve guessed. "And once you do this, you don't need me escorting you around... Though folks back home won't be any too happy about it."

"Because I won't be captured after this, or because I'm not worth capturing, right? Folks back home don't understand what this is like,” I stated.

"Right, kiddo. And no, they don't. But they understand that the Pope doesn't like it...which makes me a monster and you a blasphemer."

I shrugged a bit. "They can deal with it. If they don't like it, that's their issue...I'm interested in this. And on a more base level, the protection it offers. They’d be more upset the other way, I’m sure.”

“That’s true, but they’ll never know that...just remember that. For what it’s worth, there's some pretty good rewards down the line if you stick with it and perform well."

I headtilted as I walked. "That's a lot more than the Pope can offer."

She continued. "Roj was so devoted to Poseidon that after a few years there, he was given the ability to breathe underwater."

The surprise had to be evident on my face. "...that's impressive. Any idea what Athena offers, or...?"

"There's no offers, Renfrew. There's /earned/. And they like to surprise you with that shit."

"Ah, gotcha. Sorry.” I cut off the blatant self-interest talk and we just made small-talk for the next few minutes as we went to the temple.

The temple was a fairly impressive stone structure, clearly Greek architecture, and looked somewhat inspired by the Parthenon. Then again, that was Athene’s too, so I guess that shouldn’t have surprised me that much. The stairs were polished marble, even. Nice place.

Dawn stopped at the bottom of the steps. "Good luck kid."

I paused, looking back at her. "You can't go in?”

Dawn nodded. "I can, but it's better if I don't. You don’t need an escort up these steps, kid.”

Turning back with a breath, I nodded. “Ok, I'll see you in a bit."

Heading up the steps with another deep breath, I entered into the temple, cautiously, not intending to show disrespect. I scanned the room with my eyes to see what was going on in here, since I’d probably have to wait my turn.

The front hall contained several shrines, all heavily laden with owl imagery. Up at the end of the room, a centaur woman was chatting with a dark-haired priestess while another blonde priestess was polishing an altar. Both appeared to be young human women in long white gauzy robes. And when I say young, I mean YOUNG. I was sure this wasn’t their actual age, because both of them didn’t look a day above 20.

As I walked forth carefully, I gripped my crossbow a bit tightly, nervously. I was alone in here. I should be safe, but my instincts were telling me to hold the weapon. I stopped partway, not wanting to intrude, just waiting for a reaction to my entrance. I was kinda surprised the temple was this empty.

After a few moments, the blonde priestess stood from her work, and moved to the center of the corridor. She folded her hands and nodded to me to come forward. As I approached, I stood a bit stiffly but formally in front of her.

She seemed a bit amused. “What brings a human of the scientific realm into our temple at this time of day?”

I took a breath, and spoke. “I wish to become a follower of Virgin Athene.”

"And you felt that your weapon and armour were necessary for this?" She didn’t sound angry, just...amused, really. KInda bubbly, though she was suppressing it.

“I forgot to remove them, priestess. My apologies.” I quickly stowed my crossbow.

“Do not apologize, warrior...” She began to circle me, my neck turning to watch her. I let her size me up. “...we are a god of war, we should not think to separate a warrior from his life. ...Why Athene, warrior?"

I wasn’t a warrior, but she didn’t seem to care. “Because I hold wisdom and knowledge in high regard.”

She nodded, then added, "What of courage? Self discipline? Honour?"

I swallowed a bit. "I seek to be courageous as well, and maintain a high level of honor. I already have much discipline, but I desire more."

She stopped her walk, back in front of me "Your hand." She held her hands out, expecting me to offer mine. I held my hand out. She took it, holding it palm-up with both of her own. "To be a follower of Athene is nothing. To truly represent her and act as her eyes and hands and will... That is another. This is your choice... Would you like to pledge your allegiance, and simply wear her mark... Or will you be a devout, representing her and bound to her commands and scriptures?"

I paused, thinking. Finally, I responded, "I will do my best to do the latter as bound by my human limitations."

"You choose then, to be a follower... Or a devout?"

Another deep breath. No going back from this. "A devout."

The priestess nodded, and then squeezed my right hand with one palm above, and one below. Suddenly, my hand was itchy as hell, but I just waited. I wasn’t going to disrupt her, but DAMN was it uncomfortable. Then as quickly as it started, it was over. She removed her hands and lifted my hand up into my view, then released it.

On my palm was a full-face grecian helmet, like Athene often wears in depictions. On the back of my hand, from my wrist to the first knuckles of my fingers, was an owl-blotch feather pattern. They looked like tattoos, if particularly well done ones, but the helmet gleamed a bit in light sources...which is something you can’t do with a normal tattoo. A physical marking, to reflect the divine one.

My thoughts were interrupted by the priestess’s voice. “Go to the Parthenon when you are unfettered by duty. Do so alone, and ensure you have several days free.”

“I shall. Thank you, priestess.”

She reached into her robe and produced a small bronze owl-face pendant. She offered it to me. “In the meantime, Devout, pray to her, and act honorably. You have come to us of your own will; do well and you may be worth a reward.” She helped me put it on, tying it tightly in a slipknot, then stepped back and bowed lightly. “Goodbye for now.”

“Goodbye.” I bowed in return, and then headed for the door as the priestess resumed her work.

Exiting the temple, Dawn was there, looking at me. She noted my hand, but inquired anyways. “And?”

I looked over my hand again. “I chose to be a devout.” I showed my hand to her, letting her see both sides.

Dawn browquirked. "Well that wasn't entirely neccessary..."

I shrugged a bit. “I made my choice.”

She nodded. "So you did. Welcome to the world of split obligations, kiddo. Come on, let's get doing what we're supposed to be doing; food won’t collect itself.”

I nodded. “Alright then.”

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting_Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner_with_Robjeet|Dinner With Robjeet]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Getting Marked

2013-09-13T11:27:06Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn

2013-09-13T11:25:16Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeting Dawn}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}A few weeks later, I was on my first realmwalking expedition. It was a lightly forested island, just north of Crete. I was acting as assistant to Gerry for this run, and he’d taken the party off to do some caving in a local area. A few of them were after some purported magical item. Gerry didn’t seem like he figured they’d find it, at least to me, but as long as we got paid, it was their money.

That said, between being a rookie and the fact I was still unmarked, I was left tending the camp. It was a bit windy out, but we were leeward so I was fine. They hadn’t left me alone, there was a harpy they’d left behind who was part of the party, nominally, but wasn’t keen on the caving. They’d assured me I was safe with her, and I trusted Gerry’s discretion on this.

It was the first time I’d been close to one of them, so I probably gawked a bit. I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to her before...except to find out she was an American forcemark, and her name was Dawn. She was small, about five feet tall and probably 50 pounds. The bird features on her lower half were raptorial, but no specific species, but her upper torso and above were human. She wore a sort of cloth scarf around her breasts and wrapped around her chest and over and under her wings several times for modesty, but otherwise didn’t have anything on. I guess there’s not much clothing you can get on that body, anyways...most harpies just go ‘natural’ and dangle. Maybe it helps them distract the unwary, I don’t know.

After taking some time to take inventory on the equipment and estimating things, making some notes in the venture-log, and other scutwork, I did some practice moving in a padded vest I’d gotten. It was the very bottom rung of armor, like wearing a bit of extra clothing. It was hot, but I figured that would be the least of my worries anytime I needed to be wearing the armor. After getting a feel for it and doing some pretend running around the camp, I got bored and went over to see what Dawn was doing.

She was just loitering by the fire, really. She had a flat rock set out, and some smaller rocks on it, and she seemed to be fiddling with them to practice...well, sleight of talon, really. Moving rocks back and forth, grasping them, a bit of juggling. Harpies have no hands, so this was all with feet.

After watching for what was probably too long, I tried to break the silence. "So, um...Dawn. Where are you from, originally?"

She looked over at me, standing on one foot, a rock between toes in the other. “L.A.”

“I’ve never been there myself...in any case, if you need any help, just ask. It’s what I’m here for.”

Dawn gave me a look and I knew I’d screwed up. “I can take care of myself, thanks.” It wasn’t RUDE, per se, just reminding me which of the two of us had more experience.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s ok, greenback.” She shrugged with her wings a bit, then winced almost imperceptibly. I just gawked some at the wings.

Now, harpies break the laws of aerodynamics, so they can’t fly at all out of realm. Just too much weight on too little wingspan. She’d definitely taken advantage of the opportunity when we entered the realm, but I could tell from her face she’d overdone it a bit.

“Must be real fun, flying,” I commented, trying another shot at conversation.

With a CLACK, one of the rocks disappeared. She switched feet, and it reappeared, like magic. I knew it was just quick...feet, but I was still a bit impressed. "Sure is." Dawn sounded unenthused.

“...is something wrong? Am I bothering you?" I knew I’d screwed up again...this was no way to make friends.

“I’m not an Invalid, Renfrew...and I don’t need to be babysat.”

Stammering, I backpedaled. "...I didn't mean to imply that. I'm sorry...” I paused. “This is my first time out."

Dawn repeated the rock trick, the opposite way. “It’s a cake-run anyways.”

I nodded. “I was told that, but still...first time in the realms.”

She changed the topic abruptly. "Which god are you going to get yourself marked by?"

"...marked? Oh...right. I was thinking Athene?" I said cautiously. I had to figure that out soon.

Dawn sighed. "Look, I know they don't cover this shit back home, but any real adventurer chooses a god to mark him rather than wait to be captured and have it thrust on him."

I nodded again, feeling like a bobblehead. Now, a mark is like a stamp you get on your soul from a given god. When you get a mark, the god gains a small portion of energy off of you, from your...aura, I guess. Gods get much of their divine energy from marks; more marks is more power.

The thing is, that a mark can’t be overwritten by another mark, or at all. So unmarked people, like me, are all too tempting a target for some of the less savory gods to abduct and press into service with an involuntary mark...which is called forcemarking. Now, a forcemark is nasty business, because you get a bodily transformation into something else along with it, since the god gets more energy that way, or something. It also forms the penalty to not get marked...it’s quite likely that Dawn was a forcemark to someone, although I wasn’t sure who forcemarked into harpies off the top of my head.

Dawn read me like a book. “Caught, tagged, and turned loose as I am, yep."

"...that sucks...I'm sorry." I wasn’t really sure what else to say.

She leaned over, and made a flinging motion, skipping a rock down the dirt into the trees. "You might end up on the other side of this conversation someday, greenback."

"...they barely covered that at school." I shuddered. "I really hope not, I like my body. Kinda, like. A lot. Then again, what I like probably doesn't matter to the gods."

Dawn shook her head. "No, they taught you what you needed to know about the land. Most schools don’t cover marks too well...not a lot is known about the gods themselves, but the first thing we learn here is that they want followers. If they gotta haul you in, then they're going to give you an incentive to stick around the realms where being a follower matters." She paused for a moment. "You'll meet locals that speak Human languages. Odds are they used to be human."

“So they transform you...just to keep you around?” That seemed like a human rights issue to me, but...then again, the gods are playing in a different league.

Dawn nodded. "Bit more complicated, but that's it in a nutshell. And it works. I'm never more than a few hundred miles away from this realm."

"Wait, you can't leave? Some...physical limitation?" I blurted. Crap.

"Does it LOOK like I can live the life I had, greenback?” Her voice raised a bit.

"No...I'm sorry..." I took a moment to gather my thoughts. "Educate me. I should learn this stuff, in case I'm dealing with this on an expedition one day, or as said, am a victim myself..." Great. Now I was being fatalistic.

"Fuck, back home I'd be better off if I were wearing a turban and waving a rainbow flag, with a few 'Heil Hitler's thrown on for good measure.”

"...admittedly, you're probably right."

Dawn relaxed a bit. "I scare humans, I make them uncomfortable, and I can't use their stuff. That's how it is... And quite plainly, I never stopped loving the adventure...So Lecci's as far as I ever get. Sometimes some of my family comes and visits me there."

“I just made peace with my family myself...I can empathize.”

“Pissed off that you came here, mm?”

“...yes, how’d you know?”

“Half the guys here have the same story, Renfrew. Folks just don’t understand the drive to explore.”

“They do respect I made a job out of it. My parents do, rather.”

Dawn nodded, then segued back. "My advice? Do some research on the gods...not the stuff you find in the bullshit books...no, talk to realm denizens before you choose. You don't want to go through this."

I seemed to be hitting a better stride here. "So break it down for me. Lining up with a god...what're the benefits? And the risks? Pretend I know nothing."

Dawn paused, then seemed to fall into stride. "Pros are that nobody bothers you about being unmarked. Don't have to worry about someone claiming you, since they can't overwrite one anothers marks. The cons are that you have to follow your god's rules, and that technically, they own a piece of your being." She paused. "Also, it /really/ pisses off human religions when you do it."

“Wait, own a piece of my...being? Like my soul, right?”

"Soul, spirit, whatever." She nodded. "You don't really notice, it's not like the biblical sense we're used to." She leaned back and sat down, careful to avoid bending her tailfeathers.

"So when I die...what happens?"

She shrugged a bit. "Dunno."

“And being marked to one god puts you at odds with whoever doesn’t like that god, just like any other alleigance, right?”

"Right. But most minions are like you and me... We don't give a shit particularly unless it's out-and-out war." She smirked a bit when I winced at the term “minion.”

I paused, troubled. “A bit more complex than I thought...any real ideas what kind of rules I'd have to follow? Or what'd happen if, say, I got marked by a Olympian diety and then got transferred to Midgard?”

"Depends who you sign on to." She brushed some hair out of her face.

"Of course, Dawn...but any ideas? At all? Or suggestions?"

She looked at me hard. "That's something you have to figure out for yourself, greenback."

"Ok. It offers me improved safety, and I was planning on it. Just...curious, because well..., a lot of traditional religions seem to be all show and no go."

"If I open my mouth, I'm obligated to promote Echidna. Let's not go there." So that’s who her mark was to.

"Ok. I guess that's fair..." I reflected a bit. "Thanks for telling me this. I hope I wasn't too much of a pain."

She flapshrugged, then refolded her wings. "It's just like anything else greenback. There's what they teach you in classes... And then there's the truth. Just hope you don't end up in my boat... Whatever body you end up in ain't so bad once you're used to it, but the social ramifications suck, and the transition sucks even more, espescially when you've got the transgender aspect, which is damn near humiliating enough to break you by itself."

I recoiled a bit, probably too obviously. "...That sounds...harsh."

"No shit."

I paused for a long moment, trying to think how to continue without fucking up again. "Erm...how do they choose, or is it just a "I feel like this today" thing for the gods?"

"Dunno." She passed a wing over her rocks, and one of them vanished. How the hell she palmed with a wing...wow. Impressive. With a wave of the other wing, it was back. "In the meantime... Just consider the risks as part of the package. Part of what makes this life as exciting as it is."

"I guess that's probably the best way to look at it." I admitted.

"MOST of those that get this treatment are reported dead... Not nearly as many adventurers die as you're led to believe. They're simply... Inducted into new lives. So that's /less/ of a risk, really, if you want the upshot.”

"Brainwashed? I don't know what my family would do...” I lowered my voice a bit in thinking. “My parents would have a fit if they could hear this discussion."

Dawn shook her head. "Sometimes. Not usually. I wasn't...and that’s about par for the course, really.”

Suddenly I jolted a bit. Something sank in a bit. Brett... "You said people reported dead usually aren't...?"

Dawn nodded. "Right. Most are, but a significant portion aren't."

I paused, words spilling out a bit. "...A really good friend went adventuring in the Realms a couple years ago. Never came back, reports of his death did...but you're saying he might've lived?"

She looked at me. "Do you know /how/ he died?"

I shook my head. "No...that wasn't reported...Or if it was, I wasn't told. I didn’t know anyone else in the party so it was hard to get any real info out of them.”

She weighed her options visibly. "It depends on the circumstances, greenback.”

"I guess...probably better to not entertain those thoughts? ...thanks for filling me in on all this."

Dawn wingshrugged a bit. "Not a problem. I'm going to go check on the boys."

"Ok. Be safe." I went back to one of the tents to lay low, as I’d been taught. Easily defendable and all, as Dawn took wing, heading for the caves. I had plenty to think about in the meantime, at least.
[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

{{series bar
|previous= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Arriving_in_Lecce|Arriving in Lecce]]
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting_Marked|Getting Marked]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce

2013-09-13T11:24:02Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arriving in Lecce}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}I arrived in Lecci in the morning...relative to Lecci. Which meant I had horrible jet lag, because I’d left from Minnesota. After that it was Chicago, Frankfurt, Rome, and finally Lecci...all in the air. And I don’t know how tall the person they built airline seats for was, but he certainly wasn’t 6’2”. Needless to say, by the time I got off the plane and got my bags, I was tired, sore, and overall, a bit cranky. The fact I got more than a few disapproving looks in the States on my way out didn’t help. Almost 20 years in, and racism and hatred against the realms is still going strong.

Dragging my suitcases on the wheels, I probably stood out like a sore thumb. A lone American in the Lecci airport with two suitcases can’t be too common of a sight. Fortunately, my ride was present and the driver flagged me down. It took him a few tries, I think, because I was sort of out of it. A polite Italian gentleman in his later years, he seemed to be legitimately interested in my work out here as he helped me load into the shuttle. We had a good chat about my alma mater as he drove me out to the Lecci Venture Staging Grounds. He tipped me off that no one uses that term; everyone just calls it LRU, the shorthand for Lecci Realmwalker’s University. I guess that makes sense...LVSG is part of LRU, and it all functions as a single facility when you get right down to it.

Once I got in, I tipped the driver and was met by yet another person, this person seemingly a more experienced guide, a man in his early 30s with blonde hair. Gerry, as introduced himself, would be my immediate supervisor at least for the beginning. As Gerry showed me to my apartment in the housing blocks, he made an appointment for tomorrow to show me around the area, but today he advised I try and just stay awake and reset my schedule. Gerry was right; it was a 7-hour difference, and I had been napping on the plane, and I really didn’t want to have to be shaking off a day/night reversal in my first week on the job. I thanked him for his help as he let me in and gave me my key to the place.

Pulling my suitcases in, I noted quickly that it was a two-bedroom with a shared common area and bathroom. The other bedroom was locked for now, though, so either I had no roommate, or I’d meet him later. I pulled my cases in and hoisted them tiredly onto the bed in my bedroom, unclasping them and starting to unpack, placing things in drawers. It was really nice the place came furnished...then again, I WAS working for them, so I’d hope I’d get at least a few perks.

In the meantime, actually getting a job with RI had helped patch things up with my parents a bit. Realmwalking was a legitimate job, and the fact I’d turned this “Crazy dream” into paying work was getting at least some begrudging respect from them that I was actually committed to it, not just trying to waste the college money they gave me.

As I unpacked my clothes and some of the tools I got in the states, I came across my EU visa papers, and my RI paperwork. Man...I looked pretty green in both of them. Was this the way all realmwalkers started? Might wanna get a towel and rub that water out from behind my ears, and all. I tucked them into the provided minisafe and set the combination to something I could remember.

A click in the lock and I woke from my thoughts. My roommate was back. The main door opened and suddenly there was an individual lounging in the doorframe to the bedroom. Not that I minded. I could use the company, and I’d have to meet him sooner or later. I looked over as he spoke. The guy was in his mid 20s, lanky, with a black beard and a low turban. I would guess...Indian, with some British ancestry, since he had a mild brit accent and his skin was lighter. This may have been my first time abroad, but I wasn’t completely fresh off the turnip truck.

"Oh, hey, heard the new roomer had shown, thought I'd have to come say cheers." He offered a hand. I took it in a firm handshake.

“I’m Nathan; pleased to meet you.” I sounded new, unconfident. Dammit.

“First time to Lecci, Nathan?” He didn’t sound critical, just inquisitive, as he stepped out of the doorway to give me room.

I nodded. “Yeah...I’ve just been hired after graduation.”

“Good to have another greenback with the team.” I mentally winced at the phrasing. “Ah, I’m Robert Ranjeet, but most folks ‘round these parts call me Robjeet, like they’ve never met a brown bloke before.”

Nodding again, I stepped out into the common area and sat down on a chair. “Well, thanks for the welcome. Nice to get someone who knows a bit more than me, at least. Anything big been going on in Hellas, lately?”

Robert sat down at the kitchen table. This really was a pretty nice mini apartment. "Ahhh, some tensions between Laiti, and Athene, so there's been a lot of redirection of attention to Crete while that sorts itself out up North... Your first trip will probably be there."

I hadn’t heard about this. I’d been considering Athene for a mark, but I had no idea who Laiti was. “To Crete? Ok...any suggestions you have for me? I could really use them.” I paused for a moment. “And I know of Athene, but who’s Laiti? Never heard of them before.”

“She’s a subgod vying for some attention. Don’t worry too much about her.”

“Oh, ok, then. Trying to move up a tier, I guess...any suggestions”

Robert rubbed his chin a bit. “You won’t be going it alone at first. One of the fellows, maybe even me, will be with you on the first few ventures. You’ll have plenty of time for suggestions then.”

“Well...I was kinda hoping that, but I meant more...in general, really. What weapons should I carry, any advice on armor? I’ve got some gut feelings, but...could you provide an opinion?”

“Well, most of that’ll be covered before you go. Lots of Yanks like their spring rifles, but I’ll tell you not to take one, they’re only good for one shot. If you’re looking for something ranged, think about a crossbow. Armor...” He sized me up. “You’re a big guy, you might think about getting some. Just keep in mind that whatever you get, it shouldn’t slow you down. You get something you can’t walk a long way in, and you’re egged. Start off with things that are light and useful; we’ll keep you safe. Add more later if you handle the lighter stuff alright for a few weeks.”

“I was looking at some lighter armor and a knife, to start. Nothing too big.”

“Some basic pads and a good hunting knife wouldn’t do you badly, greenback. Me...I’m not armor folk, heheh.”

“I’ll look into that. Wanna keep my guts inside of me, where they belong.” After a moment, I said, “Been thinking about my mark too...was considering Athene, admittedly.”

Robert nodded. “Athene’s not a bad call, she’s one of the gods that doesn’t forcemark. Just get a mark to keep you from getting a force, and you’re good. I’m a Zeus myself. Not like it matters much out of realm...”

I nodded again. “That’s true, I guess. I just...forcemarking doesn’t sit well with me and I don’t want to get caught up in any of that.” Quickly deciding to change the subject, I said, “If I’m not being rude, would you be able to inform me what you do in a party, other than as a realmwalker? I have a Class 2 cert, and minor specialization in Avian Communication...I like birds.”

Robert smirked a bit. “If you like birds, Athene might be a good fit. More seriously...I’m Class 2 with a minor spec in botany. Really, don’t worry about it yet. There’s a lot invested in making sure we don’t die. But...I’ll tell you what. Finish up with your bags, have a nap, and I’ll break out a few Yeunglings and we’ll have a few rounds of Realmwalkers2 on the PS4, hey?”

I shrugged my shoulders a bit, suddenly feeling really tired. “Sure, that sounds fine...haven't played on the PS4 much, though, so you'll probably beat me...but what are Yeunglings?" The response I got was Robert opening the fridge and showing me a German beer in a plastic bottle. “Oh...no thanks, I don’t drink.”

“Just relax, Nathan...Enjoy your days off as you settle in, because soon enough you'll be busy as a cerberu's dentist."

“They must make a killing on the bill, though,” I joked.

Robert chuckled a bit as he headed for his room. “Welcome aboard, Greenback.”
[[Category:Story]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]
{{series bar
|series= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft#Nathan.27s_Story|Three Pantheons]]
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce

2013-09-13T11:15:57Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Series bar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arriving in Lecce}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}I arrived in Lecci in the morning...relative to Lecci. Which meant I had horrible jet lag, because I’d left from Minnesota. After that it was Chicago, Frankfurt, Rome, and finally Lecci...all in the air. And I don’t know how tall the person they built airline seats for was, but he certainly wasn’t 6’2”. Needless to say, by the time I got off the plane and got my bags, I was tired, sore, and overall, a bit cranky. The fact I got more than a few disapproving looks in the States on my way out didn’t help. Almost 20 years in, and racism and hatred against the realms is still going strong.

Dragging my suitcases on the wheels, I probably stood out like a sore thumb. A lone American in the Lecci airport with two suitcases can’t be too common of a sight. Fortunately, my ride was present and the driver flagged me down. It took him a few tries, I think, because I was sort of out of it. A polite Italian gentleman in his later years, he seemed to be legitimately interested in my work out here as he helped me load into the shuttle. We had a good chat about my alma mater as he drove me out to the Lecci Venture Staging Grounds. He tipped me off that no one uses that term; everyone just calls it LRU, the shorthand for Lecci Realmwalker’s University. I guess that makes sense...LVSG is part of LRU, and it all functions as a single facility when you get right down to it.

Once I got in, I tipped the driver and was met by yet another person, this person seemingly a more experienced guide, a man in his early 30s with blonde hair. Gerry, as introduced himself, would be my immediate supervisor at least for the beginning. As Gerry showed me to my apartment in the housing blocks, he made an appointment for tomorrow to show me around the area, but today he advised I try and just stay awake and reset my schedule. Gerry was right; it was a 7-hour difference, and I had been napping on the plane, and I really didn’t want to have to be shaking off a day/night reversal in my first week on the job. I thanked him for his help as he let me in and gave me my key to the place.

Pulling my suitcases in, I noted quickly that it was a two-bedroom with a shared common area and bathroom. The other bedroom was locked for now, though, so either I had no roommate, or I’d meet him later. I pulled my cases in and hoisted them tiredly onto the bed in my bedroom, unclasping them and starting to unpack, placing things in drawers. It was really nice the place came furnished...then again, I WAS working for them, so I’d hope I’d get at least a few perks.

In the meantime, actually getting a job with RI had helped patch things up with my parents a bit. Realmwalking was a legitimate job, and the fact I’d turned this “Crazy dream” into paying work was getting at least some begrudging respect from them that I was actually committed to it, not just trying to waste the college money they gave me.

As I unpacked my clothes and some of the tools I got in the states, I came across my EU visa papers, and my RI paperwork. Man...I looked pretty green in both of them. Was this the way all realmwalkers started? Might wanna get a towel and rub that water out from behind my ears, and all. I tucked them into the provided minisafe and set the combination to something I could remember.

A click in the lock and I woke from my thoughts. My roommate was back. The main door opened and suddenly there was an individual lounging in the doorframe to the bedroom. Not that I minded. I could use the company, and I’d have to meet him sooner or later. I looked over as he spoke. The guy was in his mid 20s, lanky, with a black beard and a low turban. I would guess...Indian, with some British ancestry, since he had a mild brit accent and his skin was lighter. This may have been my first time abroad, but I wasn’t completely fresh off the turnip truck.

"Oh, hey, heard the new roomer had shown, thought I'd have to come say cheers." He offered a hand. I took it in a firm handshake.

“I’m Nathan; pleased to meet you.” I sounded new, unconfident. Dammit.

“First time to Lecci, Nathan?” He didn’t sound critical, just inquisitive, as he stepped out of the doorway to give me room.

I nodded. “Yeah...I’ve just been hired after graduation.”

“Good to have another greenback with the team.” I mentally winced at the phrasing. “Ah, I’m Robert Ranjeet, but most folks ‘round these parts call me Robjeet, like they’ve never met a brown bloke before.”

Nodding again, I stepped out into the common area and sat down on a chair. “Well, thanks for the welcome. Nice to get someone who knows a bit more than me, at least. Anything big been going on in Hellas, lately?”

Robert sat down at the kitchen table. This really was a pretty nice mini apartment. "Ahhh, some tensions between Laiti, and Athene, so there's been a lot of redirection of attention to Crete while that sorts itself out up North... Your first trip will probably be there."

I hadn’t heard about this. I’d been considering Athene for a mark, but I had no idea who Laiti was. “To Crete? Ok...any suggestions you have for me? I could really use them.” I paused for a moment. “And I know of Athene, but who’s Laiti? Never heard of them before.”

“She’s a subgod vying for some attention. Don’t worry too much about her.”

“Oh, ok, then. Trying to move up a tier, I guess...any suggestions”

Robert rubbed his chin a bit. “You won’t be going it alone at first. One of the fellows, maybe even me, will be with you on the first few ventures. You’ll have plenty of time for suggestions then.”

“Well...I was kinda hoping that, but I meant more...in general, really. What weapons should I carry, any advice on armor? I’ve got some gut feelings, but...could you provide an opinion?”

“Well, most of that’ll be covered before you go. Lots of Yanks like their spring rifles, but I’ll tell you not to take one, they’re only good for one shot. If you’re looking for something ranged, think about a crossbow. Armor...” He sized me up. “You’re a big guy, you might think about getting some. Just keep in mind that whatever you get, it shouldn’t slow you down. You get something you can’t walk a long way in, and you’re egged. Start off with things that are light and useful; we’ll keep you safe. Add more later if you handle the lighter stuff alright for a few weeks.”

“I was looking at some lighter armor and a knife, to start. Nothing too big.”

“Some basic pads and a good hunting knife wouldn’t do you badly, greenback. Me...I’m not armor folk, heheh.”

“I’ll look into that. Wanna keep my guts inside of me, where they belong.” After a moment, I said, “Been thinking about my mark too...was considering Athene, admittedly.”

Robert nodded. “Athene’s not a bad call, she’s one of the gods that doesn’t forcemark. Just get a mark to keep you from getting a force, and you’re good. I’m a Zeus myself. Not like it matters much out of realm...”

I nodded again. “That’s true, I guess. I just...forcemarking doesn’t sit well with me and I don’t want to get caught up in any of that.” Quickly deciding to change the subject, I said, “If I’m not being rude, would you be able to inform me what you do in a party, other than as a realmwalker? I have a Class 2 cert, and minor specialization in Avian Communication...I like birds.”

Robert smirked a bit. “If you like birds, Athene might be a good fit. More seriously...I’m Class 2 with a minor spec in botany. Really, don’t worry about it yet. There’s a lot invested in making sure we don’t die. But...I’ll tell you what. Finish up with your bags, have a nap, and I’ll break out a few Yeunglings and we’ll have a few rounds of Realmwalkers2 on the PS4, hey?”

I shrugged my shoulders a bit, suddenly feeling really tired. “Sure, that sounds fine...haven't played on the PS4 much, though, so you'll probably beat me...but what are Yeunglings?" The response I got was Robert opening the fridge and showing me a German beer in a plastic bottle. “Oh...no thanks, I don’t drink.”

“Just relax, Nathan...Enjoy your days off as you settle in, because soon enough you'll be busy as a cerberu's dentist."

“They must make a killing on the bill, though,” I joked.

Robert chuckled a bit as he headed for his room. “Welcome aboard, Greenback.”
[[Category:Story]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]
{{series bar
|series= Three Pantheons
|next= [[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]
}}

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients

2013-06-20T07:37:56Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/The Next Move

2013-06-20T01:43:48Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:The Next Move}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} I turned away from the mirror and was blinded instantly by the brightness. Even though I was underground, the light her..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness

2013-06-20T01:43:11Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft

2013-06-20T01:41:18Z

Arrow Quivershaft: /* Nathan's Story */

{{author page}}{{My stories}}
Hey. I'm Arrow. This is my page. I'll modify it to be more impressive a bit later; right now I'm just trying to upload some stuff.

==Fur, Fury, Space (closed multiwriter furry sci-fi)==

===Lt. Vershaft Audio Entries===
[[Arriving on The Cause]]

[[Damaged Circuits and Souls]]

[[On the Education of Hawks]]

===Species Data===
[[Mod Buteo Species overview]]

===Other===
[[Random elucidations]]

==Nathan's Story==

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce|Arriving in Lecce]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting Marked|Getting Marked]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner with Robjeet|Dinner with Robjeet]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones the Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New Relationships|New Relationships]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A New Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients|Meeting the Clients]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire Chat|Campfire Chat]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's Grove|Selene's Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds of a Feather|Birds of a Feather]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning Athene|Petitioning Athene]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Nick|Meeting Nick]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back to the Grove|Back to the Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding Dreams|Forboding Dreams]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering the Team|Gathering the Team]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Cerberus|Cerberus]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Descending Into Darkness|Descending Into Darkness]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/In the Hall of the Dead|In the Hall of the Dead]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness|Out of the Darkness]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/The Next Move|The Next Move]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Nathan_Meets_Louise|Nathan meets Louise (teaser)]]

More coming soon!

==TF Vignettes==

Uploaded as I convert them.

[[Enfield transformation]]: I don't often write in second-person perspective, so I hope this still works alright. This was slammed out in less than half an hour when my muse said "KEYBOARD NAO" and I just let it wander my hands across the thing.

[[Arrow's_Vignettes:Luminari_transformation|Luminari transformation]]: Written about the same time as the prior, I neglected to upload it at the same time. In took me about a half an hour, but I'm still pleased how it turned out overall.

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness

2013-06-17T21:00:02Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Out of the Darkness}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

"Aw fuck," Alex groaned softly, saying what was on everyone’s mind as we approached. I watched the beast closely, not sure if we were going to have to fight again here. It watched us, but it didn’t get up to move. This one was a fair bit smaller, and lighter colored, than the one we encountered previously. Blossom dug into her robe and pulled out the familiar flask, but she was behind me, so the cerberus didn’t see it.

I stood there for a moment, evaluating. The riverbank here was only about 20 feet wide, and we already knew that the river wasn’t a safe option, so running seemed to be out of the question. That said, it didn’t seem to even be getting up, just watching us with curiousity at the moment...though that didn’t mean I was going to let my guard down.

"We need to be ready to fight if needed,” I said. “But let's see if we can get by without one." We were all pretty hurting by this point; Alex and Dawn were also exhausted from walking all the time. So any conflict we could avoid...

"Alright, then let us continue." Blossom said, putting the flask away, and looking at the soul. She’d really gotten more risk averse on the way up...I was glad for that. Then she looked back to the cerberus. "It looks odd.." she commented.

I started up. "It's a different one, I think."

"What happened to the other?" she asked, her and the rest following me.

"I guess it lost it's job." Alex said. Timmy grunted, looking ready for a fight. I had my sword in my hand, in case it tried something, but I wasn’t very confident I’d be good in close quarters against something this big. Still...better than nothing. That said, the thing just sat there watching us with two of the three heads. Blossom waved to the thing as we got close.

"Ey," said the two heads watching us, in unison.

"Hello." I said, turning on the diplomacy again.

"Greetings," Blossom said, turning on the cute.

"Are we permitted to pass?" I asked carefully.

"Go for it,” said the left head. “I'm here to keep people out, not in."

"Oh, ok..." I said, not really having expected that kind of easy outcome. I wasn’t going to question it, though. “Thanks.” I started out.

"Have a good run?" said the center head.

"Well, no we are just travelling," Blossom said, probably misinterpreting the realmwalker slang.

"Hmm, pretty good, I think." Alex said with a nod. Easy for him to say, he was probably the least hurt of any of us.

"Yes." I agreed. We didn’t need to show weakness. I headed through the gate with the others, and looked up at the moon as everyone else followed through. It was...refreshing to have overhead light again. Even the relative darkness of the moon seemed impossibly bright after 3 days underground.

They all followed me through, Blossom giving a polite wave as she did.

{{separator|k}}

We had to break for camp after we got up out of the blast crater the castle was in, but it was a relatively quick stop. We ate, slept, and got back on our way. We were running kinda low on supplies, and we all wanted to get out of the underworld, so we were all pushing ourselves just a bit harder. The morale was better too.

We spent the next day getting back to the tributary river and following it up. Some things I’d noticed had shifted, but not much. We had a few fights, but nothing noteworthy. Nobody was dead. We had to take it slower for the injuries, and because we were going uphill, but having Dawn and Alex back in the sky again really helped.

Towards the ‘evening’, we were heading up the last half-mile to the mirror. It was still dark, but things were looking familiar. Blossom was mumbling something to the soul, which wasn’t responding. But it seemed to comfort her to talk to it, so I saw no harm in it. I noticed Dawn circling around, probably looking for bat-creatures, since she didn’t want another of those fights, and then she circled down towards a lower orbit. Alex followed along with her.

“Mirror ho!” she called down to me. I looked up at her at that and nodded, signalling with my hand. We’d made it!

We pushed on towards the mirror, everyone’s energy seemed to be a bit higher. Dawn landed near us, starting to hop along, Alex mirroring the action a bit farther away to avoid salad-shooting anyone.

"I'm... actually surprised we pulled this off," Dawn said as we got near the top of the hill that the mirror was on. Alex chuckled, though I didn’t find it as funny. Sure, jinx it at the finish line. That said, it was the same thing I was thinking, so I wasn’t going to say anything about it.

As we got up to the top of the hill to crest the ridge in front of the mirror, I looked forward at the mirror...but I wasn’t expecting what I saw there. There were four people there, looking like they were getting their bearings. Had they just come through? I quickly sized up the situation. There were two skoll marked to Fenrir, a hemt marked to Horus, and...a sphinx, marked to Bast. Though she’s the only god that does sphinx, so that was obvious.

Shit. There was no way they hadn’t seen us, and Bast of course would’ve wanted Nick’s soul back herself. So it was fight with us in the depleted state we were in, or try diplomacy. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, hoping that there was going to be some peaceful resolution to this.

“Hello?” I stepped forward, calling out to the other group. I raised my lightstick up, and took the front position of my group, keeping them behind me. I was kicking myself mentally, mind racing. We’d just given Bast a week to catch up, and we hadn’t been subtle about our hiring reasons. It probably had been easy as pie for them to find us. Did they know where the body was? If they did, would they need us alive?

Hell, for that matter, how had they even gotten through the Athene temple? I could feel the distaste Athene had for Fenrir and Bast through my marksense. I wasn’t sure I’d like the answer to my question.

"Hi," one of the skoll said blandly, scrutinizing us. Skoll are like anthropomorphic wolves, except they’re plantigrade. Now that I could see him better, it was clear he was male, along with the hemt (short, scorpion-tailed fennec fox anthro). The other skoll looked like she was female, though they were all armed for bear.

“Hello.” Blossom said shyly, uncertainly. Good, even she knew this wasn’t a great situation.

I looked back to the skoll. "Can we assist you, or may we pass?" Just get past them and into the mirror and we were safe. Unless they’d fought their way through the temple or something, but then how’d they get through the mirror...it didn’t make any sense to me.

"We're lookin' fer wherever souls on their way t' th' afterlife'd go." the male skoll said. His mark had an odd ‘flavor’. Like he was in the direct displeasure of Fenrir himself. I’d heard of Shame-Marks before, but I’d never encountered one.

Dawn held up a wing as a wave, as she moved to my side. "Just head for water and follow it downstre-"

Blossom suddenly cut her off, levelling a finger at the male skoll angrily and shouting, “YOU!” I looked back at her. SHIT. Now this was going to go off the rails...Alex was suspiciously quiet at that.

"What'd I do now?" the skoll asked, not entirely surprised, just...like he wasn’t sure which of many actions it was.

Blossom looked at us, and then back. “This is Aaron, yes?” she asked. Hell if I knew, it was dark, he was silhouetted by the mirror, and his fur was all black.

"I is me, yeah," the skoll said, seemingly intentionally mangling the sentence. He was clearly the leader in that group by the way the others looked at him. The hemt glanced around, tail curled up behind him. I looked to Blossom, not sure if I should interrupt her. No one had made a move yet, so at least that was encouraging.

"You killed Nkosi..." Blossom accused, narrowing her eyes at Aaron.

"Yeah, he did. Why?" the female skoll said, looking a bit confused. Her mark didn’t have the same “Shame” feeling that Aaron’s did.

"When someone tries t' kill ya, you usually hafta kill'em right back." Aaron said. Was this the same one from the news? If so, he wasn’t a skoll...but I couldn’t tell any difference readily.

"You killed Nick too!" Blossom shouted in rage. So this WAS the one from the news.

I started briefly. We needed damage control, NOW. "Blossom. Please let me handle this, thank you."

"..and that's why I'm down in fuckin' spookyland, alright?" Aaron shot back.

"You intend to retrieve Nkosi's soul?" I said, trying to calm the situation down.

"Don't bother..." Blossom growled threateningly. Gods, she was interesting, but a total liability in most negotiations.

"Pussywillow can blow himself.” Aaron spat. “I'm here fer Nick."

"Easy, hon," the other skoll said in a low voice, stepping over to gently scratch Aaron’s back. He calmed a bit, but didn’t seem to like Blossom’s attitude. So they were a couple, too.

"Blossom, let me handle this." I said, raising my voice a bit to make it clear this wasn’t up for debate. She glared at me, but shut up for the moment.

"They are one and the same..." the sphinx said, continuing to stare at Blossom.

"We have the soul and intend to return it to the body." I said, trying to reach a middle ground.

"Well good. We walked all th' fuckin' way fer nothin'." Aaron said angrily.

"Have I... missed something?" the hemt said to Aaron.

"I don't know. People here think I \know\ what's goin' on,” Aaron muttered in anger.

"... Wait. You guys already got him?" the female skoll said, looking a bit surprised.

"That's the fox Nkosi kicked out of Tel Aviv,” the sphinx said. “He didn't want Bast to get her, so I got to play taxi."

Blossom stopped glaring at me and aimed it back at Aaron. “Nick’s right here.” She pointed at the soul-ball that had been following her the last few days.

I nodded in agreement. “We did get him,” I confirmed.

"... Well, that makes things simple." the female said.

"..an' here I thought I was gonna hafta reenact a few levels of Doom." Aaron said, seeming slightly disappointed.

"You are Mr. Aaron Dowrey, correct?" I said, trying to reach a common ground.

"Yeh. I am." Aaron said. Good. Now we could get to business.

I nodded back to him. "I’m Nathan Renfrew, professional Realm Walker. I have been the guide of Blossom and Alex for the last month and a half...if you desire, you may accompany us to the body to restore the soul."

"Th' body? Still got his own?" Aaron said. So they didn’t know where the body was...good, we had leverage.

Blossom seemed to calm down, looking at Aaron "I know you had no choice...I am sorry for my anger." she apologized. I’m not sure if it was sincere, but the gesture was at least welcome. "The body is back in the grove." And there went our leverage.

"Good. Th' guy's been through \way\ too many bodies," Aaron said. There was something here I didn’t know, but it wasn’t my concern at the moment.

The hemt gestured to me, speaking in a light arabic accent. Maybe a forcemark. "I like the way this fellow thinks." He said.

"Storytelling can wait, as for taking the soul back to the body that isn't happening." the sphinx said, ominously. She got a few glances from both groups from that, but backed up.

"Wait, I thought these were exactly the people we couldn't trust, hon?" Dawn said to me, trying to be quiet. I shot her a “SHUT UP” look. I didn’t need this.

Aaron eyed Dawn. "Couldn't trust.....why?" Bloody hell. The sphinx sat on her haunches with a sigh, flicking her tail.

"Whatever. Nevermind." Dawn said, trying to cover.

"What do you mean, not going to happen?" Blossom asked the sphinx.

"Go back and the spirit will dissipate into nothingness,” the sphinx explained. "Souls can't survive topside alone."

"...so, whatcha mean, Vikkinet? Take th' body \here?\" Aaron asked. There was another name.

"No...plan B, and time to come clean with you guys." she smiles at the skoll and hemt.

The hemt uncoiled his tail, looking carefully over at the sphinx. I looked at Vikkinet uncertainly, too, reaching for my crossbow.

Blossom blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Paki here is smarter then he gets credit for." Vikkinet said, nodding to the hemt. PAKI? Of all the names he could have, and he chose THAT? I know hemt are blasphemous little smartasses, but...

The hemt saw my expression and quickly said, “It means “Witness” in Xhosa, a South African language.” Oh. Well, that made it a little bit better.

I brought my crossbow into my hand, keeping it lowered to the ground as I watched Vikkinet...all eyes were on her by this point, as she lowered her head to the ground and spat up something.

"So...how about...Jesus Christ!" Aaron exclaimed. The two skoll reached for their weapons, the female for a dart pistol, Aaron for a sword. Blossom jumped back a bit. Vikki wiped her mouth with a paw and stepped back with a “bleh!” sound.

The female skoll stepped back, looking in disgust at the object that was on the ground. We all moved back a bit, watching carefully until we saw what it was. I kept a tight grip on my weapon while analyzing the object...it appeared to be a metal bottle. Ornately carved, golden gilded, but still a bottle.

"Gah that sucked,” Vikkinet said. She turned to Blossom. “Anyway, little fox person. Come on over and grab this thing. The spirit can survive within it, so you can take it to Selene." Vikkinet held up the bottle in her paw carefully.

"... Time to come clean?!" the female skoll said. "Jeeze, Vikki, you had us ready to shoot you!"

"No, no. Wait. What th' FUCK!?" Aaron shouted, looking at her suspiciously.

Blossom made a disgusted face. "Alright...I guess.." she said in a wary tone, stepping forward.

"Bast gave me this bottle with orders to take his spirit back to her." Vikkinet said. So, she WAS a plant. But it looked like the other three weren’t in on her plan.

"Stop! Wait a sec!" Aaron yelled.

I agreed with him. We needed to hear more of this story. "Wait, Blossom."

Blossom stopped. “Why?” I motioned for her to listen and looked back to Vikkinet.

"I however am refusing to do so," the sphinx concluded.

"Then are you certain that anyone else besides her can open it?" the female skoll asked Vikki. The hemt dropped to his hands and feet. Four on the floor gave his tail more range of motion, I guessed. He didn’t look happy either.

"Selene should be," Vikkinet said.

"And who's Selene?" the female skoll asked.

"Her goddess," Vikkinet said, nodding to Blossom.

"I don't trust this, Kate..." Paki said. So that was the last name I needed. Good.

"I don't fucking trust this..."

"Selene is the goddess of the moon,” I confirmed. “And...I have to note my caution as well."

"Ya just mentioned Bast gave ya orders," Aaron pointed out, the distrust clear in his voice.

"... And apparently shoved a bottle down your throat," Kate said.

"How can I be sure Nick will be safe in that bottle?" Blossom said, uncertainly. Good, she was learning.

Dawn looked up to me and said quietly. "On the list of things that I thought was going to happen when we got back to the mirror, this... I did not expect." I nodded to her in agreement. This was totally out of left field. Still, it was better than meeting an entire Bast task team. That would’ve been a bad fight...here, it looked like Vikkinet stood alone

"Bast demanded my presense that day and gave me the orders to capture his soul and bring it to her,” Vikki explained. “I asked her why, she said she wanted it and /might/ give him a body someday. Other then that she'll put it on her mantle. Being a spirit trapped in a bottle to be observed by a goddess is no way to live out an existence,” she said, pausing. "So here, take the bottle and take him to his body."

"...I don't like it," Aaron said with a shake of his head.

"... I don't either," Kate noted, looking warily at Vikkinet.

"Nor I," I agreed.

"Waaaaay too contrived," Aaron said.

"Like it or not this bottle is the only way to preserve his spirit," Vikkinet said. She had a point. If what she said was true, we were kinda over a barrel here.

"Why th' fuck did ya not \mention\ this in th' first place?" Aaron asked, angrily.

"I think I can offer a mutually agreeable compromise," Paki said, tail twitching. "We slit her fucking throat, and half of us go grab said body." Thankfully, no one seemed to take that idea too seriously for the moment.

"No, it's the only way we have on /hand/." Kate said, glaring at Vikkinet.

Blossom backed up, stepping back behind me halfway. Dawn was plastered to my side as well. Timmy and Alex were off to my left and back, both seeming to let this play out, just ready to jump in if a fight started.

"You wouldn't believe that I was going to Selene with it," Vikkinet said. “That’s why I didn’t say.”

"No /shit/," Paki sneered.

"No fuckin' kiddin'!" Aaron echoed.

"Bast specifically mentioned Selene were to not get the spirit, a.k.a that's where "Nick" died," Vikkinet said. She seemed honestly contrite, but...she could’ve been picked for this mission for that skill. And even if she was telling the truth, there’s no reason that Bast would’ve told her everything.

"Sorry, Vikki,” Kate said. “I wouldn't believe that you're not just giving us a bottle that no one besides Bast can open."

"Yes, I will not hand him over to you," Blossom agreed. Common sense victory.

Vikkinet put the bottle back down. "Then what do you suggest?" she said.

"Fuck th' bottle, these folks send some people t' get Nick's bod, then retrieve it.” Aaron said. “I an' other folks'll guard th' soul."

"My compromise solution is looking pretty nice,” Paki said, tail still twitching.

"Where is the body? How far from here?" Kate asked, looking at us.

"It'll take two weeks, there and back." Vikkinet said.

I ignored her, giving my own estimate. "Four days walk. One way." And that was assuming I was at the head being a taskmaster.

Kate looked at me, then at Vikki, then back at me. "So just over a week," she said. "What'll happen to the soul if we don't guard it?"

"I don't wanna find out." Aaron said. That I could agree with, too. The guy had a slightly better head on his shoulders than I’d expected.

"Look, all the gods have comparable powers,” Vikkinet protested. “Selene will be able to open the bottle...as for "handing him over to me" I want /you/ to keep the bottle." she said, aiming the last part at Blossom.

"How do i know you’re not lying...?” Blossom said, accusingly.

"I know I don't have a lick of trust, I never have among you guys and I really haven't cared,” Vikkinet monologued. “I'm out of Tel Aviv, and intend to live the rest of my life free from deranged goddesses. I wouldn't want Bast to stare at my soul in a bottle every day smiling. I wouldn't condemn a guy like him to that fate."

"Okay, okay. You said, 'I know you don't trust me, but...trust me?'" Aaron pointed out.

"Because you were one of his girls?" Kate asked Vikk flatly.

"Yeah and he was one of us, he gave a damn and died for us." Vikkinet countered to her.

"Despite having known only the piece of him that Bast twisted into her own little inept Vader?" Paki said. Ahh, the standard hemt charm...or lack thereof.

"I've given you guys the whole spiel, he didn't have a choice,” Vikkinet huffed. “Kinda happens when you land in an ocean and become a personal pet."

"I would feel better if we brought his body here." Blossom said to me. “I don’t want anything to do with Bast.”

"He didn't choose his fate, it was chosen for him unjustly so fuck it. Why let her get her way when she's fucked with everyone I care about," Vikkinet argued. She turned to Blossom. "You aren't, god do you guys not listen or something."

"I ain't gonna risk Nick bein' buttfucked from this. Fuck yer bottle, then eat it again." Aaron growled.

“The only problem we'd have with that would be supplies for the people who are guarding the body, and specifically dealing with the priests on the other side," Kate said to Blossom.

"Here's the game plan, soul in bottle, bottle goes to Selene, soul in body." Vikkinet said confidently.

"..but we don't know how th' bottle works!" Aaron shouted, gripping his sword again.

They had issues with the priests? That might be my in. "You came here from Athene's temple, correct?" I asked them.

"Yes," Aaron threw back to me, still aggressively staring at Vikkinet.

Kate looked over and nodded to me, more calmly. "Yeah, we did," she agreed.

"You open it and he goes in, then let a priest or Selene herself open it so the soul doesn't dissolve." Vikkinet said.

"Yet \you\ are th' person who made |NO| mention of it!" Aaron roared at the sphinx.

"But why would /Selene/ help us?" Kate asked. I was losing them.

"She will help, she's keeping Nicks body alive right now." Blossom said confidently.

I raised my voice a bit so I could be heard. "I was Marked at the temple you just came through. I have no problem 'dealing with them.'" I didn’t like that last turn of phrase, but it was an easy way to make the point.

Kate heard me and motioned to me with the rest of her group. "Well, there's our ticket."

Paki suddenly lashed out, attempting to bring his tail to Vikki's neck. It didn’t penetrate, but the knife-to-throat analog was obvious. Vikkinet glanced to the stinger at her throat, but otherwise went very, very still.

Aaron twitched and turned back to the motion. "HEY!" For the love of gods, if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. All eyes turned to the standoff, Alex backing up and spreading his wings slightly.

"Stop!" Blossom shouted.

"His tail paralyzes. /Relax/," Kate said to everyone around. I knew that, but everyone else, not as much.

"Still acting like she calls the shots here...” Paki growled. “Someone /very/ much needs a reminder of how tenuous she has just made her position here."

"Big whoop if it gives her a 'nother breathin' hole..." Aaron muttered.

"Hmph, can't we think of this logically...” Vikki said carefully. “Let me explain really quick."

"No," Kate said to Vikki.

"I \did\ think this through logically,” Aaron said flatly. “I. Don't. Trust. You."

"You're done," Kat agreed.

"Why would I reveal everything and expect to get away with "orders" around a bunch of armored folk?" Vikkinet pleaded.

"You've said your piece,” Paki said. “It's time for the /proven/ to make their choices about what's going to happen now."

"Because you're carrying an ace we don't know about." I agreed, aiming the main statement at Vikki.

Kate’s hackles went up fast. She was MAD. "And why would you act all coy and tell us Paki was right about you all along if you were trying to /help/ us?" she practically barked at the sphinx. "If you're trying to help us, you're /horrible/ at the diplomacy!"

"He was right I was keeping something, hell what would you expect me to say when you inevitably asked why I spit out a magical bottle? Where'd I get it, the pawn shop?" Vikkinet protested, knowing she was losing ground.

"Tellin' us th' day we left th' realm \may\ have been smarter," Aaron countered.

Blossom tugged on my clothing, showing me the same flask from earlier with what little tranquilizer poison she had left. I looked at it, and shook my head. Not yet, and we didn’t have time to prepare to use it. She nodded, and pocketed the flask as we both turned back to the tumult.

"Paki, if you please," Kate says, motioning to Vikki. The hemt looked to Aaron for confirmation.

"Yeah,” he gave it. “Don't kill'er, though."

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness

2013-06-16T19:43:53Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness

2013-06-16T05:49:25Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:Out of the Darkness}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} "Aw fuck," Alex groaned softly, saying what was on everyone’s mind as we approached. I watched the beast closel..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft/In the Hall of the Dead

2013-06-16T05:49:16Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:In the Hall of the Dead}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} I didn’t have to wait long. A translucent human being walked through the doors after a moment and looked us..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Descending Into Darkness

2013-06-16T05:48:01Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:Descending Into Darkness}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} I stared for a moment at the thing, thinking I must’ve hit my head. I took a step closer, then thought bet..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Cerberus

2013-06-16T05:47:48Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Cerberus

2013-06-16T05:31:08Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerberus}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was a rough descent, but with some solid teamwork between me, Timmy, and Blossom, we got down. Not without a few scratches and such, but we made it in one piece. All of the injuries were minor. After patching everyone up, taking a short rest, and getting our packs again, we started our approach to the castle itself.

The bowl was surprisingly barren as we walked through it. I got the idea that it was a blast crater, but the bowl was just...empty. No animals, no burrows, no plants. It was like the idea of life itself hated this place. Even the twisted plants and animals of the underworld refused to live here. We followed the riverbank towards the castle. As we approached it, we saw that only one bank was allowed into the castle, the rest of the entrance eaten up by by the river. And on the bank we could traverse, there was a single cerberus.

It wasn’t what I’d expected. It had a rather wide, squat body, kinda like a pit bull. But it was rather less canine than I’d expected. The three heads were there, but it had a mishmash of fur, spines and scales. It looked like it was napping. Good. Maybe we could sneak past it, because it was about the size of a rhino, based on what I could see as we approached.

"What the hell is that?" Alex said as he spotted it.

"A cerberus." I said. The rumor about being eaten by one came back to my mind. Hopefully I wouldn’t find out firsthand.

"Doggie nappin' is probably a good thing." Timmy said.

"Lets go around it..." Alex suggested.

"Probably the best choice, yeah." I agreed.

"It is best to let sleeping dogs lie..." Blossom added.

I nodded, as we started that way. Getting a look into the corridor past the cerberus, it became obvious that Dawn and Alex would be grounded from here on out. One of the cerberus’s heads lifted slowly and started to regard us as we approached. Fuck, it hadn’t been asleep at all. It sighed, then hauled itself to its feet, speaking in Greek to rouse the other two heads that were sleeping.

"Aw fuck." Alex hissed. It seemed to be a sentiment shared by all of us as we approached. I gripped my crossbow a bit tighter as we closed in, but kept it down.

"Who's a good doggie, yes you are, yeees you are." Timmy said, seemingly seriously.

"I doubts that patronizing it will help." Alex told him.

"I do not think this is an ordinary dog." Blossom said with a shake of her head.

"Ah... Yeah... What's Plan A, fellas?" Dawn asked.

"I'd vote running like hell.” Alex responded to Dawn.

"Plan A is hope it doesn't mind us. B is fight, we need to go through." I said.

"Ah, yes ..." Alex said unenthusiastically.

Dawn took up the rear of our group as we approached. I was in front with Alex and Timmy and Blossom were behind me. The cerberus just waited for us, eyeing us with all of it’s heads.

As we approached, Alex tentatively waved a wing. "Euh, hello. Good ... evening."

Blossom approached closer, passing between me and Alex. When she was a few feet away from him, she bowed. "Greetings." she said to him.

The three heads ducked once in a slight response to the bow, and then came back up. The center looked at Blossom, then at the rest of us. “"Yeah, you know how this works. Blah blah blah, guardian of underdark. What do you want?" Well, he at least was direct...

"To pick up a f-" Alex said, before he was cut off by Blossom.

"I want to see Hades." Blossom said. Oh gods, was she going to try and be the diplomat again? I winced.

"Yyyyyyeah... Go home." the center head said to us.

Blossom shook her head. "We can't, we know of your problem, and have come to help." she stated.

I eyed her. So did Alex. She seemed to have some sort of plan, which I could...at least give her more credit for. I didn’t want a fight, so I let her talk for the moment. Still, I wish she’d keep her damn mouth shut, she’s not that gifted a speaker.

"I don't have a problem. Seriously, go home." The left head said.

"Can't do that, look lets be specific." Timmy said. Oh gods. "There's a dude we wanna get back to the surface, kinda important fellow."

"Not you, specifically Hades does, with one soul that can't be decided." Blossom said, nodding.

"Blossom, please." Alex hissed. At someone agreed with me.

"That isn't my problem or yours." the left and right head said in unison.

"It's not a problem, so whatever we want the kid anyway." Timmy said.

Blossom glared back at Alex, but said nothing. She turned back to the cerberus and said, "Yes, we want to take him away from here."

"Look... I'm not trying to be a dink, I'm trying to save you from your own best intentions. You go in here, you get your ass handed to you. I'm here for /your/ protection." The Cerberus said. I was at least grateful for his patience.

"We appreciate that, but I’m not leaving without my friend." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks for the thought but we're pretty determined.” Timmy said. “Kid has a life to live, friends back home...yadda yadda."

"He's not quite dead you see." Alex chimed in.

"Ain't my job to decide who dies. It /is/ my job to keep brass-balled questing parties topside." the right head commented with an eyeroll.

"We're here to correct an error, not take some soul or decide who is dead." Alex said.

"Just go away, alright? Nobody has ever raised the dead. Ever. You're wasting your time." the left head commented.

"He ain't dead dead, body is still comatose." Timmy added.

Great. So I had three people talking to the monster, and none of them were me. I looked at Dawn helplessly. She shrugged back at me, but there was no good way for me to get into the conversation this late.

"That's great... Seriously, go away." the three heads said in unison.

"Ain't going away." Timmy said.

"What if we told you we know where he goes?" Blossom said inquisitively.

"Holy shit, this is why I hate this job." the center head exclaimed.

"Yer tellin' me right, get paid to do this. It'd make it easier if you let us do our job too." Timmy said.

"Yeah? And how are you going to make it worth my while?" the left head said incredulously.

"What would you want?" Blossom asked, sincerely.

"What've you got?" the thing asked

There was an in for me. "Food, money." I said.

"Don't need money, have plenty of food. Fuck off." It growled at me.

"Name something you want then." Blossom said, tail swishing impatiently.

"I want you to go back /home/." the monster snarled.

"We will do that, but with Nick as well." Blossom stated.

"Yeah. Great. Go." the thing said with a sigh.

"We need to pass you to get Nick." I said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Holy shit you people are dense." the right head said, a paw reaching up to effectively facepalm. Great. So there was no way through.

"Not without our condition bein' met...trust us we want nothin' more then to go home too." Timmy said,

Blossom walked up, right to the front of the cerberus, glaring up at it. One of the heads glared back, another watching the group, and the third still facepalmed. I was worried. If it decided to attack her, there was nothing I could do with her that close.

"Just go. I know you love your guy, but you won't get him back. Just /go/." the cerberus said forcefully.

"I love him too much to leave him here." Blossom retorted.

"So did the last folks, and the group before, and the group before...You /really/ want to fuck with the core forces of life and death, eh?"

"I am different, I would die for him gladly even trade myself for him." Blossom growled back. "Yes!"

"This castle-thing needs a fucking door. A great big locking fucking door." the right head, said, the paw finally coming back down. A part of me couldn’t help but agree, despite how much of a problem it would’ve been for us.

"Then you would have no job." Blossom stated, like that made any difference.

"See this? This is what I get for trying to be decent. I could do the snarling and attacking and everything, and instead I /try/ to send you back, and this is what happens." the center head said.

"I really do appreciate you talking with us, I really do, who wouldn't love the chance to talk with someone as interesting as you." Blossom said patronizingly. Now she was trying to butter him up...way too late for that.

"Look, I'll take it up with my supervisor, just go somewhere else for awhile." the left head said, entirely unconvincingly.

"I imagine that will take a long time..." Blossom commented. Good. She was learning. On the plus side, the thing hadn’t tried to murder us yet.

"It might. So go." the center head said.

"Can I go with you?" Blossom asked.

"No." the heads said in unison again.

"Why not? I am sure it would be safe if I was with someone as strong as you." she said, trying to butter him further.

The cerberus didn’t fall for it. "No."

Blossom shrugged and turned around, walking away "Well, if you couldn't do it..." Man, she was getting better. That said, the cerberus sat back down, clearly not interested.

I motioned to the others, and we turned around and left to regroup and try and come up with a better plan.

We regrouped a ways from the castle to talk. I looked to Dawn as had
become my instinct lately, wondering if she had anything. She wingshrugged
at me.

"Well, that went well." Alex commented.

Blossom shook her head. "That was annoying."

"Well, we wait, I guess..." I said, glancing away. I doubted he’d go ask,
but I wasn’t itching to pick a fight with a cerberus.

"I don't think he is going to ask..." Blossom surmised. Maybe she’d been
faking her naivety before.

"You really wanna fight him?" I asked her, seriously.

"No, i was trying to talk with him but /someone/ wouldn't let me..." she
eyed Timmy. Timmy just shrugged a bit.

"Well, it's a very bored guard thing to do ... and it got us away from
him..." Alex said. So they were on the same train of thought that I was.

"So what do you want to do about it?" Dawn asked.

"Well, we can wait, or we can fight. Neither is an option I'm particularly
eager to take." I said, putting out the options.

"So we find a "back door'?" Alex asked.

"We did a loop, Alex, there's none that I can see. That thing is built like
a frigging sub pen." Dawn pointed out.

"I could always try talking with him again; see if i can get him to agree?”
Blossom said hopefully.

"Yep, that's true Dawn.” Alex said. Then he turned to the fox. “Blossom,
your talking skills leave much to be desired." Finally someone had said it.

"What’s that mean?" Blossom asked, naively.

"You're not one of the most gifted of talkers." Alex stated.

"Well, I don't see you making any suggestions." Blossom said, crossing her
arms.

“I-” Alex said, but I cut him off. We couldn’t afford any fighting.

"Whoa, no fighting.” I said. “That's gonna cause problems."

Alex ruffled a bit, but nodded. "Yeah..."

"We can either force our way past, or wait, or try something else." I
reiterated. If the group fractured, we were all fucked, and worse, I
wasn’t doing my job. I glanced to the river curiously, but figured there
probably wasn’t anything good to come from swimming in it. It was flowing
far too fast for much in the way of swimming anyways, and we had dozens of
pounds of gear.

"What if we got Cerberus' heads to fight each other?" Blossom asked.

I looked over at her, quirking my brow. "Interesting idea."

"Do you think it will work?" Blossom asked.

Alex chuckled. "It's so deranged it just might." He said with a smile.

I mulled it over before saying, "Do we have anything to lose? We should
plan it out, first. We don't have anything he wants..."

"Well we know we don’t have anything that head wants." Blossom said. She
didn’t get it, again.

"A little long-range firepower would do it." Dawn said.

I looked at Dawn. "Got a question on that angle, actually...The water has
certain magical effects down here, right? Wonder if there's any chance you
know the effects of this river's water?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not to my knowledge, it doesn't."

"There goes that, I guess." I said. "Long range firepower is in short
supply, though." I and Blossom were the only two with crossbows.

Blossom muttered something, then looked over to the cerberus. She stood up
and started walking over towards him again. "Hmm. Maybe he wants to play
a game?"

I looked over at her as she moved, followed her, for her safety.

"I don't like where this is going..." Dawn said, echoing my mental
state...but she came along anyways. Alex scrambled up and followed along
with us as well.

The left head eyed Blossom as she approached and spoke to the other two.
"Look sharp."

Blossom got right up in the thing’s face again, looking at it. "Hello, did
you happen to ask yet?"

"Yes, I managed to summon my boss and have a long retarded conversation
with him in the 30 seconds you were gone." the left head droned
sarcastically.

"Well thats good, so is he willing to see us then?" Blossom said, clearly
missing the sarcasm. I looked at the beast edgily.

The left head sighed audibly. The right head looked down at Blossom.
"Okay, here's how it works. 10 seconds to get out of our faces, or I hold
you in the river there until the bubbles stop."

“I don't think that would work..." Blossom said.

I moved forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Blossom, come on. Now."

Blossom looked back at me, but started a step back. "Why?"

"Because we're not getting anywhere. Come on." I said, trying to pull her
away.

Blossom shrugged and walked back with me. "Why? He wants to go blow
bubbles in the river. What’s the harm in that?"

"Um...no. That's not what he suggested. Come on." I led her away.

"He said he wanted to hold me in the river until the bubbles stopped, but i
don’t see how thats possible cause then he'd have to kill all the fish."
Blossom protested.

I sighed mentally. "He threatened to hold you under the water until you
drowned." I explained to her.

Blossom paused, then nodded. "Oh...well, why didn’t he just say that
then..that other head isn't very nice." she growled a bit as we walked away.

After we got a fair distance away, we reconvened to discuss. We were out
of earshot of the beast, which Dawn made sure of before suggesting the next
course of action.

"Just kill it." Dawn said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

I looked to Dawn. "That makes a ruckus...and I'm not sure of our chances.
You really think we should?" I really was hoping there was a better
solution, despite the pretty obvious chances that there wasn’t.

"Well, someone seems to have neglected to bring the hippie-grade
tranquilizers,” Dawn noted. “So... yeah."

"I can't use poisons, and you know that." I reminded her.

"No, I have those..." Blossom said. She rummaged in her robe for a bit
before pulling out a small pouch. I looked over at her with surprise. SHE
had the solution?

"When did you pick /those/ up?" Dawn asked with as much surprise as I had.

"When we were after Nkosi." Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "I made them."

"How do they work?" I asked, tentatively.

"Well, we can either get him to eat them,” Blossom said. “Or...if we could
put them on him like in his blood."

"We're amazingly short on IVs if you didn't notice." Alex noted.

I sighed a bit. This talk of poisoning the thing was making me uneasy.
"There's always the old fashioned way."

"I always have a crossbow." Blossom said. That’s right, she had gotten a
crossbow from RI and she’d kept it the whole time she was in the grove. I
was glad she had it suddenly, since if she did the poisoning, my hands were
clean.

"Hmm?" Alex asked.

Blossom pulled her crossbow out. “See?”

Alex nodded. "Ah. And our backup plan would be?"

"Run like hell?" I said dryly.

Alex smirked. "Can do."

"I am not sure how much we need to hit him with though...or..if it will
affect him." Blossom stated with uncertainty. "He's a lot bigger than
Nkosi."

"I have no knowledge of poisons." I said as Timmy looked to me.

Alex took the hint. "But we don't have to be too careful with the stuff.
He doesn't have to survive it."

Blossom turned to look at Alex a bit crossly. "I don't want to kill him..."

"Me neither, but if it's him or Nick, I choose Nick." Alex said.

"I nominate Tim and Lex to cover her if it goes sour." Dawn noted. I
looked over at her curiously, since she’d excluded me, but looked back to
the group just in time to catch Alex nodding.

Blossom nodded as well. "Alright. I'll need a minute to poison the
thing." She set the crossbow aside, opening her potion vial and dipping one
of the bolts into it. I noted that the container for the poison seemed to
be all-natural. Kinda ironic. After a few moments she pulled the bolt
out. “Alright, I think that will be enough.” She recapped the vial and
started loading the crossbow. The bolt was dripping a green, viscous
liquid. “So, how do I get close?”

"Why don't /both/ of you shoot this thing?" Dawn said, looking at me with
a pointed glance.

"I don't want to kill him." Blossom reiterated.

"Because I can't use poison." I reminded her.

"One bolt probably won't kill it." Alex said. "But we have to keep him
entertained until he falls asleep."

"If he runs around, it will spread faster." Blossom reminded us.

"That's true." I agreed with Blossom.

"Well fuck, give the cross to Tim." Dawn said in response to me. "Hell,
coat Lex's wings in the stuff."

"Umm...." Alex didn’t seem entirely happy with that suggestion.

"No, i said I don’t want him to die!” Blossom exclaimed. “He might be
mean but doesn't deserve to die!"

"Dawn, I can't give someone it either. That falls under being an
accessory." I explained, feeling kinda sheepish.

"What?" Dawn said. "Nathan, honey... Pragmatism. What happens when this
thing kills half your friends because it didn't get taken down fast enough?"

Alex smirked a bit at that. I weighed my options. Dawn had a legit point,
but...it wasn’t honorable...then again, neither was getting everyone
killed...

"I have enough for five Nkosis.” Blossom said. “If you accidentally get
some of this in your mouth it might kill you."

"Is that in your code?” Dawn said. “Come on, hon. Spirit of the law rather
than the letter."

While I was standing there, I took the crossbow out in one hand to
consider. While I was lost in my own thoughts, Alex jumped over and
grabbed at it with a talon. He grabbed it and pulled it away easily
because of my surprise.

“Hey!” I shouted. I didn’t know what he was doing, it wasn’t like he could
use it. But I didn’t want him to break it with his feathers. It’s
designed to take a few hits, but not the kind of abuse a stormwing could
deliver. That said, I didn’t make any moves against him, because...well,
stormwing. More blades than I wanted to take a go against in any situation.

Alex turned away from me, shielding his body from me with a wing. "Bloody
thieving stormwings..." he said, as he hopped over towards Blossom.

Blossom looked at him. "How do you expect to fire it? You might cut it."
she said to Alex as he hopped over.

"Well, there are other people with hands here.” Alex said, pointedly. Now
I got it. I wasn’t comfortable with being sidestepped this way, but again,
I didn’t have a lot of choice.

"Well...I’ll coat another arrow, but only fire if it doesn't seem to work
okay?" Blossom said tentatively, looking across over all of us.

"Your chances of hitting him a second time while he's angry are slim." Alex
pointed out. He had a point.

Blossom sighed and sat down, taking a bolt out of the magazine and coating
that one in poison too. After she was done, she looked to me and Tim.
"Okay, who's taking the other one?"

"Well, either Nate butches up, or Tim takes it." Dawn said. Tim shrugged
at that.

Blossom looked at me, almost pleadingly. It was obvious she didn’t want
Timmy to take it.

I sighed. After a moment, I said, "Fine." and tried to take my crossbow
back from Lex. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately let me have it
back.

Blossom gave me the bolt hesitantly, but nodded. “Only if it doesn’t seem
to work,” she reiterated to me. I nodded, loading the bolt into my
crossbow like it was diseased. Which I guess it was, in a sense, given it
was covered in poison from the tip to halfway up the shaft.

"Alright..ready." Blossom said. I looked to her and readied myself as
well, mind racing. Was I going to get smited or punished for using poison?
I really hoped I wasn’t getting myself in deeper, here.

Blossom turned to us. "Okay, how do I get close enough?" she asked.

Alex leaned over towards me. "Sorry about that, dude." he whispered. I
nodded to him, then turned back to the meeting.

"Team effort.” Dawn said. “Looks like we're all going in. I'm no good in
close quarters fighting, so I'm going tophat to make sure it doesn't summon
anything at us." She paused. "I'll stay low and get in if things turn
bad, but I'd /really/ rather not.” I nodded my affirmation to Dawn.

Alex nodded to that as well. "I think it's best if I also take to the
skies."

"Think one of you can carry me?" Blossom asked Dawn. Alex looks to Dawn,
sizing her up. "Just in case?" Blossom added after a moment.

"Not effectively...” Dawn said, shaking her head.

"It wouldn't have to be too far...just out of reach?" Blossom pressed.

"You're not going to be able to shoot effectively like that." Dawn pointed
out.

"This is after I shoot,” Blossom said. “I don’t think I can run faster
than him...”

"And anywhere I could get you, poochey can get faster. That's a no-go."
Dawn continued.

"Then I guess I'll have to think of something..." Blossom said. She nodded
nervously. "Okay, everyone ready?"

Dawn nodded and took flight without another word.

"We'll just have to keep him busy." Alex said encouragingly to Blossom,
then he followed Dawn.

Blossom loaded her crossbow, and prepped it, chambering the poisoned bolt.
Then she started walking straight towards the Cerberus, the weapon pointed
down at the moment. She was mumbling what sounded like a prayer...I
doubted Selene would intervene, but I was grateful for the thought. I
followed along, my own crossbow held loosely in one hand and hauberk worn
over my standard armor.

As we got closer, Blossom started scanning the area, seeing if there was
any place she could run to, or possibly hide if need be. Unfortunately,
the blast crater was barren of anything of that style...probably
intentionally. “Selene, give me strength,” she said as she finished her
prayer.

I was vaguely aware of Alex circling above us, gaining height and keeping a
good eye on the creature. Dawn was near him; Tim was back aways from me
and Blossom, because he didn’t have a ranged weapon. I accompanied Blossom
up towards the Cerberus, heart racing, hoping this wasn’t gonna be the end
of the party, so to speak.

The cerberus watched us approach. After a few moments, the right head
said, "Oh yeah, /that/ ain't suspiscious." It spoke to the other two heads
and it roused itself, pulling itself up to its feet.

Blossom narrowed her eyes as she approached and called to him as she got
closer, lifting the crossbow towards the meat of the creature’s body. "Let
us in and we won't hurt you." she told him.

Alex was circling above. I was sweating bullets.

It didn’t take us long to get a response, the cerberus charging straight at
Blossom and Tim. Tim drew a huge-ass bastard sword and stood his ground.
Blossom didn’t wait a second, either, and shot her crossbow at the beast’s
chest and center of mass. Best target as he closed. Then she turned tail
to run, having no other options if it charged. The bolt connected and
embedded itself in the chest, but it didn’t have any immediately visible
effect on the monster.

I took a step back out of the charge for now, prepping my own crossbow.
Then I had to duck suddenly, as Alex, the flying razor factory, descended
from over me, zipping over the heads of the others, and moving to try and
slash the monster with razor wingfeathers.

Meanwhile, the cerberus was bearing down on Tim. Lex got ploughed into,
despite the pointiness. In the middle of this game of chicken, Alex pulled
up. Unfortunately, the scales on the Cerberus were easily enough to take
the abuse of the gliding blow. Then the thick lizard-like tail of the
cerberus came up and smacked Lex in the less armored human torso, knocking
him out of the sky like he’d met a baseball bat. He hit the ground hard
and lied there in a crumpled heap. FUCK.

I aimed for a clean shot, but couldn’t get one quite yet. Tim was too
close. I held my fire.

Blossom was running. She wasn’t even looking back. She looked around, but
kept running, trying to stay ahead of the cerb. She looked at the river
and angled there, but seemed hesitant at best.

Tim ducked and rolled, avoiding the cerberus, then coming up to slash at
the monster’s sides with his sword as it barrelled past. There was a NASTY
gash cut by his sword, but the thing shrugged it off.

Blossom kept running; she nearly tripped twice, and then she reached the
river, looking back to see where the monster was. Dawn looped above me, I
saw her shadow on the ground, but there wasn’t anything she could do at the
moment. Alex was motionless, probably knocked out.

The monster disengaged from Tim and moved to chase Blossom. Easiest to
take out, and she was backed against the river. I looked to see if the
monster had slowed at all...but for all the action, we’d only been in
combat for maybe 10 seconds. It just hadn’t been long enough.

I kept my aim there, hesitating. I should probably be pulling the trigger,
but it was...hard. I knew the thing was poisoned and I wasn’t sure if I
could get away with it.

Blossom looked back at the charging cerb, then took a deep breath and jumped into the water. “Blossom!” I shouted, noticing the current was
pulling her downstream towards the mouth of the castle.

The monster stopped upon seeing that and turned back. Apparently it didn’t
want to go in the water either. Alex groaned loudly, and started to move. The monster beared back on Tim, who took his ready stance again.
Downstream from Blossom, the water started roiling unnaturally.

Blossom was swimming her hardest, but the current was stronger than she
was. She tried to swim to shore, but the current was just too strong for
her, so she settled for just keeping her head above water. Downstream from
her, large tentacles started to pierce the surface of the water. Something
was hungry. Alex rolled over on his back, and started to stand back up.

That wasn’t my primary concern at this point. The cerberus charged Tim
now. Tim went low and forward to evade the three pairs of jaws, and then
dragged his sword along the thing’s underside. But this cost him; he got
stepped on by by a wickedly clawed rear paw. He groaned loudly. Alex
rolled back to his feet, broken feathers shaking off him like glitter.
That said, he was clearly still woozy.

The reality of the situation hit me like a punch to the gut. We didn’t
HAVE any other options except the one in my hand...and my line of fire was
finally clear. I lined up the shot, took a deep breath about what I was
going to do, and started firing. The poisoned bolt flew true, hitting the
monster in the neck. The beast turned and started bearing down on me. I
managed to cycle two more bolts into it, both in the faces, before the
thing got too close for comfort. It was starting to slow visibly, but it
was still moving fast enough that I had to roll out of the way.

I managed to avoid getting run over like Tim had, and jumped back to my
feet. I took stock of the situation as the cerberus turned around. Alex
was still getting back to his feet. Blossom was struggling to get to
shore...I saw Dawn taking a dive at her, yelling “Blossom! Hands up!”
Blossom put her hands up and her head down as Dawn grabbed her and started
dragging her to shore, flapping like hell in the process.

"Little piece of shit..." The cerberus said as it started coming at me,
snapping me back to my own situation. It came more slowly this time, with
three sets of snapping jaws. It was going too slow for it to easily
overshoot this time, which left me one option. I turned around and started
booking it in the other direction.

Tim got himself painfully to his feet in my peripheral as I was moving.
Blossom was on the shoreline, coughing and spitting, and Dawn was panting.
Fuck. If that poison didn’t work soon someone was gonna get screwed up by
the monster.

Suddenly, I heard a curse and a wingflap, then a shouted, “Fight a monster,
you coward!” I turned around to see that Alex had jumped back into the
fight, slashing at the cerberus like a blender. The monster backed up at
that, not wanting anything to do with the wall of blades. I took the
opportunity, pulled my crossbow up, and shot it twice more, emptying my
magazine. Both bolts struck, lodging in the thick skin.

Alex backed up after his initial attack to realign his blades for another
attack. I dropped the crossbow and drew my sword, having nothing else to
use and no time to reload. I suddenly found myself wishing for a rifle.

The cerberus moved forward to attack Alex, then faltered, missing a step.
Alex and I both flinched backwards...and then the cerberus staggered
further, shaking a bit. It shuddered, one leg collapsing.

"Oh... Oh FUCK you..." it said, staggering and then with a loud WHUMP, the
cerberus collapsed, quickly falling unconscious.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

User:Arrow Quivershaft

2013-06-16T01:37:09Z

Arrow Quivershaft: /* Nathan's Story */

{{author page}}{{My stories}}
Hey. I'm Arrow. This is my page. I'll modify it to be more impressive a bit later; right now I'm just trying to upload some stuff.

==Fur, Fury, Space (closed multiwriter furry sci-fi)==

===Lt. Vershaft Audio Entries===
[[Arriving on The Cause]]

[[Damaged Circuits and Souls]]

[[On the Education of Hawks]]

===Species Data===
[[Mod Buteo Species overview]]

===Other===
[[Random elucidations]]

==Nathan's Story==

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce|Arriving in Lecce]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting Marked|Getting Marked]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner with Robjeet|Dinner with Robjeet]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones the Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New Relationships|New Relationships]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A New Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients|Meeting the Clients]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire Chat|Campfire Chat]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's Grove|Selene's Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds of a Feather|Birds of a Feather]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning Athene|Petitioning Athene]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Nick|Meeting Nick]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back to the Grove|Back to the Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding Dreams|Forboding Dreams]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering the Team|Gathering the Team]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Cerberus|Cerberus]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Descending Into Darkness|Descending Into Darkness]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/In the Hall of the Dead|In the Hall of the Dead]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Out of the Darkness|Out of the Darkness]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Nathan_Meets_Louise|Nathan meets Louise (teaser)]]

More coming soon!

==TF Vignettes==

Uploaded as I convert them.

[[Enfield transformation]]: I don't often write in second-person perspective, so I hope this still works alright. This was slammed out in less than half an hour when my muse said "KEYBOARD NAO" and I just let it wander my hands across the thing.

[[Arrow's_Vignettes:Luminari_transformation|Luminari transformation]]: Written about the same time as the prior, I neglected to upload it at the same time. In took me about a half an hour, but I'm still pleased how it turned out overall.

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Cerberus

2013-05-26T00:20:00Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enter the Underworld}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was a rough descent, but with some solid teamwork between me, Timmy, and Blossom, we got down. Not without a few scratches and such, but we made it in one piece. All of the injuries were minor. After patching everyone up, taking a short rest, and getting our packs again, we started our approach to the castle itself.

The bowl was surprisingly barren as we walked through it. I got the idea that it was a blast crater, but the bowl was just...empty. No animals, no burrows, no plants. It was like the idea of life itself hated this place. Even the twisted plants and animals of the underworld refused to live here. We followed the riverbank towards the castle. As we approached it, we saw that only one bank was allowed into the castle, the rest of the entrance eaten up by by the river. And on the bank we could traverse, there was a single cerberus.

It wasn’t what I’d expected. It had a rather wide, squat body, kinda like a pit bull. But it was rather less canine than I’d expected. The three heads were there, but it had a mishmash of fur, spines and scales. It looked like it was napping. Good. Maybe we could sneak past it, because it was about the size of a rhino, based on what I could see as we approached.

"What the hell is that?" Alex said as he spotted it.

"A cerberus." I said. The rumor about being eaten by one came back to my mind. Hopefully I wouldn’t find out firsthand.

"Doggie nappin' is probably a good thing." Timmy said.

"Lets go around it..." Alex suggested.

"Probably the best choice, yeah." I agreed.

"It is best to let sleeping dogs lie..." Blossom added.

I nodded, as we started that way. Getting a look into the corridor past the cerberus, it became obvious that Dawn and Alex would be grounded from here on out. One of the cerberus’s heads lifted slowly and started to regard us as we approached. Fuck, it hadn’t been asleep at all. It sighed, then hauled itself to its feet, speaking in Greek to rouse the other two heads that were sleeping.

"Aw fuck." Alex hissed. It seemed to be a sentiment shared by all of us as we approached. I gripped my crossbow a bit tighter as we closed in, but kept it down.

"Who's a good doggie, yes you are, yeees you are." Timmy said, seemingly seriously.

"I doubts that patronizing it will help." Alex told him.

"I do not think this is an ordinary dog." Blossom said with a shake of her head.

"Ah... Yeah... What's Plan A, fellas?" Dawn asked.

"I'd vote running like hell.” Alex responded to Dawn.

"Plan A is hope it doesn't mind us. B is fight, we need to go through." I said.

"Ah, yes ..." Alex said unenthusiastically.

Dawn took up the rear of our group as we approached. I was in front with Alex and Timmy and Blossom were behind me. The cerberus just waited for us, eyeing us with all of it’s heads.

As we approached, Alex tentatively waved a wing. "Euh, hello. Good ... evening."

Blossom approached closer, passing between me and Alex. When she was a few feet away from him, she bowed. "Greetings." she said to him.

The three heads ducked once in a slight response to the bow, and then came back up. The center looked at Blossom, then at the rest of us. “"Yeah, you know how this works. Blah blah blah, guardian of underdark. What do you want?" Well, he at least was direct...

"To pick up a f-" Alex said, before he was cut off by Blossom.

"I want to see Hades." Blossom said. Oh gods, was she going to try and be the diplomat again? I winced.

"Yyyyyyeah... Go home." the center head said to us.

Blossom shook her head. "We can't, we know of your problem, and have come to help." she stated.

I eyed her. So did Alex. She seemed to have some sort of plan, which I could...at least give her more credit for. I didn’t want a fight, so I let her talk for the moment. Still, I wish she’d keep her damn mouth shut, she’s not that gifted a speaker.

"I don't have a problem. Seriously, go home." The left head said.

"Can't do that, look lets be specific." Timmy said. Oh gods. "There's a dude we wanna get back to the surface, kinda important fellow."

"Not you, specifically Hades does, with one soul that can't be decided." Blossom said, nodding.

"Blossom, please." Alex hissed. At someone agreed with me.

"That isn't my problem or yours." the left and right head said in unison.

"It's not a problem, so whatever we want the kid anyway." Timmy said.

Blossom glared back at Alex, but said nothing. She turned back to the cerberus and said, "Yes, we want to take him away from here."

"Look... I'm not trying to be a dink, I'm trying to save you from your own best intentions. You go in here, you get your ass handed to you. I'm here for /your/ protection." The Cerberus said. I was at least grateful for his patience.

"We appreciate that, but I’m not leaving without my friend." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks for the thought but we're pretty determined.” Timmy said. “Kid has a life to live, friends back home...yadda yadda."

"He's not quite dead you see." Alex chimed in.

"Ain't my job to decide who dies. It /is/ my job to keep brass-balled questing parties topside." the right head commented with an eyeroll.

"We're here to correct an error, not take some soul or decide who is dead." Alex said.

"Just go away, alright? Nobody has ever raised the dead. Ever. You're wasting your time." the left head commented.

"He ain't dead dead, body is still comatose." Timmy added.

Great. So I had three people talking to the monster, and none of them were me. I looked at Dawn helplessly. She shrugged back at me, but there was no good way for me to get into the conversation this late.

"That's great... Seriously, go away." the three heads said in unison.

"Ain't going away." Timmy said.

"What if we told you we know where he goes?" Blossom said inquisitively.

"Holy shit, this is why I hate this job." the center head exclaimed.

"Yer tellin' me right, get paid to do this. It'd make it easier if you let us do our job too." Timmy said.

"Yeah? And how are you going to make it worth my while?" the left head said incredulously.

"What would you want?" Blossom asked, sincerely.

"What've you got?" the thing asked

There was an in for me. "Food, money." I said.

"Don't need money, have plenty of food. Fuck off." It growled at me.

"Name something you want then." Blossom said, tail swishing impatiently.

"I want you to go back /home/." the monster snarled.

"We will do that, but with Nick as well." Blossom stated.

"Yeah. Great. Go." the thing said with a sigh.

"We need to pass you to get Nick." I said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Holy shit you people are dense." the right head said, a paw reaching up to effectively facepalm. Great. So there was no way through.

"Not without our condition bein' met...trust us we want nothin' more then to go home too." Timmy said,

Blossom walked up, right to the front of the cerberus, glaring up at it. One of the heads glared back, another watching the group, and the third still facepalmed. I was worried. If it decided to attack her, there was nothing I could do with her that close.

"Just go. I know you love your guy, but you won't get him back. Just /go/." the cerberus said forcefully.

"I love him too much to leave him here." Blossom retorted.

"So did the last folks, and the group before, and the group before...You /really/ want to fuck with the core forces of life and death, eh?"

"I am different, I would die for him gladly even trade myself for him." Blossom growled back. "Yes!"

"This castle-thing needs a fucking door. A great big locking fucking door." the right head, said, the paw finally coming back down. A part of me couldn’t help but agree, despite how much of a problem it would’ve been for us.

"Then you would have no job." Blossom stated, like that made any difference.

"See this? This is what I get for trying to be decent. I could do the snarling and attacking and everything, and instead I /try/ to send you back, and this is what happens." the center head said.

"I really do appreciate you talking with us, I really do, who wouldn't love the chance to talk with someone as interesting as you." Blossom said patronizingly. Now she was trying to butter him up...way too late for that.

"Look, I'll take it up with my supervisor, just go somewhere else for awhile." the left head said, entirely unconvincingly.

"I imagine that will take a long time..." Blossom commented. Good. She was learning. On the plus side, the thing hadn’t tried to murder us yet.

"It might. So go." the center head said.

"Can I go with you?" Blossom asked.

"No." the heads said in unison again.

"Why not? I am sure it would be safe if I was with someone as strong as you." she said, trying to butter him further.

The cerberus didn’t fall for it. "No."

Blossom shrugged and turned around, walking away "Well, if you couldn't do it..." Man, she was getting better. That said, the cerberus sat back down, clearly not interested.

I motioned to the others, and we turned around and left to regroup and try and come up with a better plan.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Cerberus

2013-05-25T01:23:46Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:Enter the Underworld}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} It was a rough descent, but with some solid teamwork between me, Timmy, and Blossom, we got down. Not without a..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft

2013-05-25T01:23:06Z

Arrow Quivershaft: /* Nathan's Story */

{{author page}}{{My stories}}
Hey. I'm Arrow. This is my page. I'll modify it to be more impressive a bit later; right now I'm just trying to upload some stuff.

==Fur, Fury, Space (closed multiwriter furry sci-fi)==

===Lt. Vershaft Audio Entries===
[[Arriving on The Cause]]

[[Damaged Circuits and Souls]]

[[On the Education of Hawks]]

===Species Data===
[[Mod Buteo Species overview]]

===Other===
[[Random elucidations]]

==Nathan's Story==

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce|Arriving in Lecce]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting Marked|Getting Marked]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner with Robjeet|Dinner with Robjeet]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones the Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New Relationships|New Relationships]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A New Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients|Meeting the Clients]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire Chat|Campfire Chat]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's Grove|Selene's Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds of a Feather|Birds of a Feather]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning Athene|Petitioning Athene]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Nick|Meeting Nick]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back to the Grove|Back to the Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding Dreams|Forboding Dreams]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering the Team|Gathering the Team]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Cerberus|Cerberus]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Nathan_Meets_Louise|Nathan meets Louise (teaser)]]

More coming soon!

==TF Vignettes==

Uploaded as I convert them.

[[Enfield transformation]]: I don't often write in second-person perspective, so I hope this still works alright. This was slammed out in less than half an hour when my muse said "KEYBOARD NAO" and I just let it wander my hands across the thing.

[[Arrow's_Vignettes:Luminari_transformation|Luminari transformation]]: Written about the same time as the prior, I neglected to upload it at the same time. In took me about a half an hour, but I'm still pleased how it turned out overall.

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld

2013-05-25T01:21:16Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld

2013-05-22T00:19:05Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld

2013-05-21T00:04:49Z

Arrow Quivershaft: Created page with "{{DEFAULTSORT:Enter the Underworld}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}} I turned and looked around. As my eyes adjusted, it became obvious we were on a large stone platform. There was..."

User:Arrow Quivershaft

2013-05-21T00:04:04Z

Arrow Quivershaft: /* Nathan's Story */

{{author page}}{{My stories}}
Hey. I'm Arrow. This is my page. I'll modify it to be more impressive a bit later; right now I'm just trying to upload some stuff.

==Fur, Fury, Space (closed multiwriter furry sci-fi)==

===Lt. Vershaft Audio Entries===
[[Arriving on The Cause]]

[[Damaged Circuits and Souls]]

[[On the Education of Hawks]]

===Species Data===
[[Mod Buteo Species overview]]

===Other===
[[Random elucidations]]

==Nathan's Story==

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Arriving in Lecce|Arriving in Lecce]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Dawn|Meeting Dawn]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Getting Marked|Getting Marked]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Dinner with Robjeet|Dinner with Robjeet]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Bones the Satyr|Bones the Satyr]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/New Relationships|New Relationships]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Unexpected Burdens|Unexpected Burdens]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/A New Realm...?|A New Realm...?]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting the Clients|Meeting the Clients]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Departing|Departing]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Campfire Chat|Campfire Chat]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Selene's Grove|Selene's Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Birds of a Feather|Birds of a Feather]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Explanations|Explanations]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Petitioning Athene|Petitioning Athene]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Meeting Nick|Meeting Nick]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Back to the Grove|Back to the Grove]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Lecce Pit-Stop|Lecce Pit-Stop]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Forboding Dreams|Forboding Dreams]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Gathering the Team|Gathering the Team]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Enter the Underworld|Enter the Underworld]]

[[User:Arrow_Quivershaft/Nathan_Meets_Louise|Nathan meets Louise (teaser)]]

More coming soon!

==TF Vignettes==

Uploaded as I convert them.

[[Enfield transformation]]: I don't often write in second-person perspective, so I hope this still works alright. This was slammed out in less than half an hour when my muse said "KEYBOARD NAO" and I just let it wander my hands across the thing.

[[Arrow's_Vignettes:Luminari_transformation|Luminari transformation]]: Written about the same time as the prior, I neglected to upload it at the same time. In took me about a half an hour, but I'm still pleased how it turned out overall.

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team

2013-05-19T23:31:40Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

User:Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team

2013-05-19T00:37:27Z

Arrow Quivershaft:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathering the Team}}{{Universe|3P}}{{title}}

It was the morning of the 20th. Dawn and I’d made good time from Corinth, even pushing a bit after dark during the night, using some stealth. Just being by myself really helped in a few ways. We were coming down the mountain, approaching the edge of the grove by now. I had the data from the archives tucked down deep in my pack to protect it, and was carrying two copies. I’d also tried to memorize some of it when I had time.

I had spoken to Dawn of my dream the night of the 18th, and she had listened, and offered her opinion that it sounded like a vision...that it might be Nick’s soul going to the Underworld. But she admitted it was a total guess, and neither of us could really do anything without getting to the grove. It still ate at me in the back of my mind, what I’d seen, but that was all it could really do. I just hoped it wasn’t true what I’d seen...but I had a nagging feeling that it was all too real.

As we reached the edge of the grove, Blossom was there waiting for us. Dawn saw her from her orbit above, and swooped down to land next to me. I didn’t like the feel of this, but I didn’t have much option. I waved to Blossom as I approached, feeling suitably grim.

Blossom’s expression was as dark as my thoughts. “Welcome back,” she greeted us, but without her customary enthusiasm.

"Hello, Blossom. Are you well?" I said. I waited for her answer, expecting fears to be confirmed.

"Well enough." she said, clearly trying to dismiss the question. "Did you find anything?" she asked bluntly. She was...all business. Very direct and to the point.

"We didn't hire any mercenaries, no.” I stumbled a bit, taken aback by Blossom’s directness. “We got some news that we figure was a bit more important..." I went straight to the point. "Is Nick alright?"

Blossom shook her head. "No, he is not, His fate is trying to be decided right now."

"I expected about as much..." I said, trying to sound confident; if I sounded uncertain, Blossom would be completely deflated. So that was his soul I’d seen...he would be in the Underworld. Fate being decided...what did that mean?

"That is why we must leave very promptly if we are to get to him in time." Blossom said with a nod. All business, indeed.

"That's the same that I thought.” Another bluff. “I got some extra supplies for the trip." That was true.

"Do you have guide to Hades?" Blossom asked, again, very directly.

I took a deep breath. "I took the liberty of getting one, yes."

"Which is to say, me." Dawn said to Blossom. I nodded in agreement.

Blossom looked at Dawn, quirking a brow but just shook her head without saying anything. "Then, should we get ready to go?" she asked.

"We should, yes.” I agreed. “Need to get there before they make a decision."

"They won't." Dawn said.

I looked to Dawn. "Explain, please?"

Blossom nodded in agreement with Dawn. "They are confused by him.”

"I mean it. Time gets stretched and folded down there, and they take longer to decide anything than is comprehensible." Dawn elaborated. "That's why you don't ask them for anything. By the time the fates decide that you can borrow a toy, you already need dentures."

I nodded slowly, understanding. Somewhat. I’m used to time being a fairly constant thing, I guess. Luxuries.

"I still want him out of there soon, he does not deserve such a place as that." Blossom said.

"We've got a body, we've got a decision snarl... We might just have a real shot to make this happen." Dawn sounded...maybe just a touch enthusiastic.

"I am still troubled by something...I have been thinking about it since yesterday." Blossom said.

"Ok...what is it?" I asked.

"If Nick is down in Hades realm, where is Nkosi?" Blossom asked.

"That, I can answer...he's dead." I confirmed.

"I know that,” Blossom said, somehow politely. “I meant his half of Nicks soul...is it back where it belongs?"

"Oh...I don't know that." I said, looking to Dawn. She wingshrugged.

"Then perhaps we will have to ask, once we go there." Blossom resolved.

"He might be in the Egyptian Realm, they might be together; that's a good idea." I said. What else could I say?

Blossom shook her head. "No, my dream told me where to find Nick, he is under Greece."

"The Underworld." I stated.

Blossom nodded. "Yes."

"Dream?" Dawn asked, eyeing me.

"Yes, from Selene." Blossom nodded.

"I don't quite follow." Dawn said.

"My dream showed Nick standing in a room with a bunch of others, as his fate was being decided by these fates and another person." Blossom explained.

I browquirked. "That matches up with what I've heard sometimes..." And seen in the archives.

Dawn was the realist. "Alright... So what do we /do/ now that we know this?"

"We collect our things and head for the Hades realm." Blossom stated simply.

"Easier said than done, Blossom." I said, a bit edgily.

"Why is that?" Blossom asked.

I looked to Dawn, hoping she’d back me up a bit. "Monsters, for one. There will most likely be fighting."

"Yes, and I do not foresee a problem with that. You have been there before, yes?" she asked me.

The confidence was cute, but worrying. "No. I have not been to the Underworld yet. Dawn has, though."

"You don't see a problem with fighting for your life?" Dawn asked seriously.

"My life isn't important, Nicks is.” Blossom stated. “Is there not a way we can go around the monsters or be granted an audience?"

"You don't want an audience with them." Dawn said. "By the time they decided whether to grant us an audience, we'll all be dead of old age."

"Alright, can we go around the monsters?" Blossom pressed.

"Not really." Dawn said, shaking her head.

"Then there is no alternative." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"One stormwing might not cut it." Dawn noted, seeing where Blossom was going.

"Then we shall bring Alex with us." Blossom nodded.

"That's the stormwing that won't cut it." Dawn explained patiently.

"Then why did you not hire mercenaries?" Blossom asked.

"There's just as many available in Corinth or Sparta as Lecci.” Dawn said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Then we shall hire some there. Can we not discuss this on the way?" Blossom said, clearly impatient.

Dawn looked at me. It was nice to still have her in my corner.

I paused, considering it. "We can. If you desire to go." I said.

"I do desire that, yes. I will not stand by and do nothing if i can help." Blossom resolved.

I nodded. I couldn’t blame her...I’d have done the same if it was my parents or Dawn. "Then we shall pack and leave either today or tomorrow.” I said. “We’ll get Alex and get ready.” I started deeper into the glade, looking for the resident stormwing. Dawn nodded to Blossom, and followed along with me.

{{separator|k}}

After finding and catching Alex up, Dawn had gone off to hunt some food outside of the grove. The vegetarian fare in the grove really didn’t sustain her properly. It can’t have been good for Alex either, but he seemed to have already eaten for now. I was just resting on a rock, recovering. I’d pushed myself hard the last few days and it was catching up with me. And I was gonna be pushing myself more for the foreseeable future, so I should rest now while I had a chance. Alex was brooding nearby on another rock, but for the moment, he wasn’t saying anything.

After a while, Blossom came in on us. She looked a bit calmer than she was when we’d met her this morning, but she still had somewhat of a ragged appearance. “Hello.” She said.

“Good afternoon, Blossom.” I said cordially.

Alex looked up as well. "Hey Blossom."

"How are you all?" Blossom asked.

"I'm ok." I said.

"Okay." Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "Good, i thought we could talk a bit about what we’re going to do."

Alex ruffled his feathers, seeming to wake up a bit. "Oh yeah..."

"We need a plan, yes." I agreed.

"Well, where do we have to go to get access to the underworld?” Blossom asked. “Which places are close enough to hire people to come with us?"

I’d discussed this with Dawn a bit. Turns out that one of the known reflection points was in Athens, in an Athene temple, so it’d be easier for us to use. We’d have to get better directions once there. "You need to visit a specialized oracle, who will reflect you into the alternate realm of the Underworld. Once down there, navigation down the Styx is difficult and hazardous.” I took a breath. “But we'd be near Athens, which means that yes, we'd be able to hire mercenaries. Although for this job, they probably won't run cheap."

"What's this reflecting?" Alex asked.

"I will hire as many as we can." Blossom said.

Alex looked to Blossom. "Don't we want to hang onto our money?"

"Nick is more important than our money." Blossom said. When she set a goal, she meant it.

"Okay." Alex said with a nod. He seemed to agree, based on his tone. In either case, he decided to change the subject. “What’s this reflecting?” he asked.

“...I don't know much about the reflecting, that's what Dawn said they have to do. She's been down there, I haven't." I said, a bit sheepishly.

"Where is Dawn by the way?" Alex inquired.

"Off perhaps flying, or eating?" Blossom guessed with a shrug.

"Out getting some food, yes." I confirmed. Alex nodded unconsciously.

"So, we can make preparations to go to Athens then?" Blossom said, a bit excitedly.

"We can. Although I have a few warnings and issues to bring up." I cautioned.

"What is that?" Blossom asked. Alex made a thoughtful noise, but said nothing.

"First. I'll remind you again before we enter, but while in the Underworld, you are NOT to eat or drink ANYTHING without mine or Dawn's express permission." I said. My tone of voice was clear that there wasn’t any debate allowed on this. “Preferably both of us.”

Blossom tilted her head a bit. “Why, what could happen?"

"You could be forced to stay down there, or other bad things might happen." I explained. Alex nodded to that.

Blossom re-aligned her head and nodded. "Alright...anything else?"

"This werewolf. I got a name while I was out of the realms..."

"Aaron?" Alex interjected.

"Aaron Dawrey, yes." I confirmed. "He's being sponsored by 3R."

"What is that?" Blossom asked, as Alex groaned. Seemed he didn’t like the guy.

"Reuters Realms Report. The Realms news division of the news media conglomerate Reuters. Basically, they fund his travels in exchange for rights to his stories." I explained.

"What does that have to do with us?" Blossom asked.

"You know him, right?" I said.

Blossom nodded "Yes, I believe so...why is that an issue?"

"Well, meant to mention it in case you wanted to meet up with him or somesuch." I said.

"We do." Alex nodded.

"Yes, we could use his help." Blossom said.

I nodded. "Well, we'll have to see what we can do. He kinda fell off the radar.”

"If he happens to find us then i will ask for his help, but i believe we should leave promptly." Blossom said. Man, was she ever in a hurry.

"I agree." I said, not sure what else to say.

"Okay." Alex said. Seems he was in the same spot.

Blossom seemed to take that as an invitation to continue. "I will make my preparations tonight, so that we can leave tomorrow. But I have one more thing to ask."

"Shoot." I said.

"What do we do with Nicks' body?” Blossom asked.

"Well, he should be safe enough here." Alex mused.

I honestly didn’t know. "We may need to bring it with us. I’ll ask Dawn.”

Alex nodded. "Ah, okay."

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us. I looked up and saw Dawn circling lower, just having come through the canopy of the grove. She was coming in for a landing.

“Speak of the devil,” I said. I waved to her with my left hand.

Blossom tilted her head again. "Speak of who?"

"It's a saying, Blossom.” I explained. “‘Speak of the devil, and he'll appear.’ In this case, we were mentioning Dawn, and here she is.”

"Oh...I see." Blossom said.

Dawn dropped down, taking up a spot a few yards from Alex. There was a bit of blood on her chest, but I doubted it was hers. "Hey...What'd I miss?"

"A bit of planning for the trip." I said.

"Good hunting?" Alex asked. Blossom stared a bit at the blood, but didn’t say anything.

"Got what I needed.” Dawn said to Alex. “Ah, so where are we at?"

"What to do with the body." I said.

"Umm ... what to do with /Nick/. He's not quite dead." Alex said, sounding a bit offended.

That had been a crass way of putting it. "Apologies."

"It's alright...but yes we do need to discuss this." Blossom said.

"Leave it here." Dawn said. "You need to bring the soul /out/."

"Well, i suppose that would be best then we would not have to protect him..." Blossom posited.

"And haul him around the place the whole time." Alex added.

"Dawn's the expert now, not me." I said, nodding to her.

"Don't worry, we won't fire you yet." Alex said with a weak smile.

"Then we shall leave him here. How fast can we get to Athens?" Blossom asked.

"Two days with you and me, Blossom. Here's my suggestion...Alex and Dawn leave and start screening mercenaries in Athens while we travel." I said, looking around to see what people thought.

"Travel to where?" Blossom asked.

"Athens." I reminded her.

“Then why split up, if we’re both going to Athens?"

"Because Alex and Dawn can get there in a few hours, Blossom."

"Oh..right..wings." Blossom nodded, getting my point.

"Exactly. They could probably make it tonight." I confirmed, then looked back. Blossom fell silent.

Alex seized the opening, turning to Dawn and asking, "Nate talked about an oracle Reflecting us. What's that?"

"A reflection is..." Dawn paused. "Well... Hard to explain. The underworld is...It's like stepping through the mirror."

"Ummm, like here but not quite?" Alex queried.

Blossom nodded at the answer. "If you could leave before us, it would be greatly appreciated; I must go and make preparations now." she stood

"That's it, then? We're going?" Dawn said. I nodded to Dawn.

Blossom nodded. "Yes...thank you for doing so." Then she hurried off like someone had just lit a fire under her tail.

“So, do you need to rest a bit?” Alex asked Dawn.

"Not really... Bloods kinda still up." she replied.

"Okay, then shall we leave right now?" Alex asked.

"No.” Dawn answered, looking to me. “Wait for morning. Nate’ll have instructions for us."

"Aah, okay." Alex nodded. He sighed. “I'll go catch some sleep then..."

*Dawn nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"Good luck." Alex said, and headed off to find a nice quiet place to sleep.

Dawn looked at me after they both left. “Gods, Nate. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too,” I said.

[[Category:Story]][[Category:3P]][[Category:Non-TF]][[Category:Arrow Quivershaft]]